Keel-laying gets Canada Maritime in the right "spirit"

The largest ships ever to be deployed in the St. Lawrence River are on target to start services later this year with the keel laying in South Korea of Canada Maritime’s 4,100 teu containership Canmar Spirit.

The first ship in the newbuilding programme, Canmar Venture, is on schedule for delivery in July with the Canmar Spirit following in September.

The ships, which are being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Heavy Machinery, will each be 294 metres long, 32.2 metres wide and have a draught of 10.78 metres. Their nominal capacity is 4,100 teu, with a service speed of 22 knots.

These are two of three ships ordered to operate in Canada Maritime’s Northern Service. OOCL, Canada Maritime’s long-standing partner in the St. Lawrence Co-ordinated Service (SLCS) has ordered the third vessel.

SLCS offers three weekly routes through the Montreal Gateway. Route 1 links Montreal with Thamesport, Antwerp and Le Havre; Route 2 links Montreal with Antwerp and Hamburg and Route 3 links Montreal with Liverpool.

Canada Maritime, part of CP Ships, and OOCL continue to market their services independently, whilst celebrating 21 years of SLCS operation this year.

“These new ships will help Canada Maritime meet expected demand from our growing markets into the next decade,” said Terry Burrows, Senior Vice President, CP Ships with overall responsibility for Canada Maritime. “This will be the third time in eight years that we have introduced new and larger tonnage specially built for the particular requirements of our Northern Service.