Great Lakes Feeder Lines adds second ship

BURLINGTON, Ont. — Great Lakes Feeder Lines has taken delivery of its second ship MV Arctic Sea in Malta.

The ship, which made headlines last summer after becoming the centrepiece of an alleged hijacking off the Swedish Coast, is a 1992 build Ice Class 1a vessel designed to operate in some of the most stringent ice conditions.

At 4.705 tonnes carrying capacity and 97.80 m length, the vessel is capable of economically carrying bulk, break-bulk, project and containerized cargoes, according to GLFL officials. The ship has two box type holds covered by hydraulically operated hatch covers. It can carry 270 containers with 21 reefer sockets and its gear includes two cranes located on the port side each with a lifting capacity of 25 mt and a combined capacity of 45 mt.

Given the uncertainty over the 25% import duty levied on Canadian imported vessels, the owners have decided to sail under the Barbados flag with a mix of Canadian and Filipino crew. The ship will serve international markets throughout Canada and the US. 

GLFL’s business model calls for European feeder style multi-purpose ships. The Arctic Sea is well suited to carry coils, aluminum ingots, steel products, lumber, heavy or over- sized project cargo, grain and other bulk commodities as well as containers, according to GLFL.

After GLFL took delivery of the Arctic Sea, the vessel proceeded to load a cargo of bulk material in Greece destined for discharge in Quebec in mid-May.