Port of Quebec welcomes first foreign ship of 2012

QUEBEC CITY, Que. — The Quebec Port Authority (QPA) has awarded the Gold-Headed Cane to the Federal Rideau for being the first oceangoing ship from a foreign port to dock at the Port of Quebec in 2012.

Flying the Hong Kong flag, the bulk carrier of close to 200 metres in length and a gross tonnage of 20,659 tonnes, arrived at wharf 52 of the Beauport sector just after noon on Wednesday, coming from Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland. The ship was at the port to load a shipment of copper at the dry bulk terminal operated by St. Lawrence Stevedoring, a division of Quebec Stevedoring. The cargo is bound for the Port of Brunsbüttel in Germany.

A short ceremony took place on board the ship with representatives of the management of the QPA, the terminal operator, the maritime agency responsible for the ship and the media.