Tuesday September 13 2016 – Representatives of some thirty organizations and manufacturing companies are gathering today at the Gare maritime de Trois-Rivières for an event aimed at promoting and developing short sea shipping (SSS) services. This event is organized by the Table du Québec sur le Transport maritime de courte distance in close collaboration with the Port of Trois-Rivières, the Manufacturiers de la Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec (MMCQ), the Groupe Bellemare and Les Armateurs du St-Laurent, which coordinates the Table’s efforts.
In addition to two industrial tours, one of the Port of Trois-Rivières and the other of Groupe Bellemare’s facilities, the day entitled PORTe-À-PORTe offers a practical program focused on the needs of businesses. “This approach is part of the efforts made by all stakeholders involved in marine transportation in recent years to better serve manufacturing companies by offering them a transportation alternative for their North American shipments,” said Jacques Paquin, Vice-President Marketing and Business Development of the Trois-Rivières Port Authority (TRPA). “This day confirms our desire to act in partnership with our community to achieve collective economic development objectives, by promoting access to new markets for businesses, both for exports and access to raw materials,” concluded Mr. Paquin.
Short Sea Shipping
Short sea shipping is a multimodal concept of transportation involving any marine transportation of goods or passengers that takes place without crossing an ocean, such as the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes system and along the East Coast of North America. At the heart of this vast network, which provides access to important markets, the Port of Trois-Rivières is a privileged site for the growth of this type of transport, which is one of the main orientations of the Government of Quebec’s Maritime Strategy.
Accessible, economical, safe and an informed choice in terms of environmental protection, short sea shipping is a very interesting complement to other modes of transport and offers a competitive alternative to companies. It reduces congestion and wear and tear on road infrastructures and has a low production of polluting atmospheric emissions per unit transported.