Port of Montreal 2018: First Ship Award

179th Gold-Headed Cane Ceremony

January 3, 2018

Montreal Port Authority (MPA) President and CEO Sylvie Vachon was pleased to award the famous Gold-Headed Cane to Captain Rakesh Kumar, an Indian national, Master of the Ottawa Express, the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal without a stopover in 2018. The Ottawa Express left the Port of Liverpool, England, on December 21, 2017. It crossed the Port of Montreal‘s limits on January 1, 2018 at 11:55.  The Gold-Headed Cane was awarded by Sylvie Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority.

This event also let the MPA recognize the work of the Corporation of Mid St. Lawrence Pilots, Messrs. Alain Aubé and Gabriel Ross, who steered the ship safely to port. Every year, the Port of Montreal also likes to recognize the work of one of the artisans of the Gold-Headed Cane. This year, Ms. Vachon congratulated Urgence Marine Inc. for its contribution to the smooth functioning of port operations.

This great annual marine tradition brings together numerous representatives of the shipping industry and the Montreal business community along with key figures from the political and cultural sectors. This year, the Montreal Port Authority was honoured to have among its guests Ms. Alexandra Mendes, Member of Parliament for Brossard-Saint-Lambert, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport of Canada, Mr. Jean D’Amour, Quebec Minister of Maritime Affairs and Ms. Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal.

Flying the flag of Bermuda, the Ottawa Express is 245 metres long. Chartered by Hapag-Lloyd shipping company, this container ship was commissioned in 1998. The Ottawa Express docked at Berth 77 at the Cast terminal operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership. It will be reloaded for its departure on January 5.

2017 - Another Record Year at the Port of Montreal

As part of this ceremony, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) reported another record year with close to 38 million tonnes of cargo handled in 2017, according to unaudited preliminary statistics.

According to preliminary statistics, the Port of Montreal handled close to 38 million tonnes of freight in 2017. This unaudited figure represents an increase of almost 7% in cargo traffic. It is also a historic record for the Port of Montreal.

The results are also excellent in the cruise sector. The Port of Montreal again shattered a cruise traffic record. In 2017, Montreal welcomed more than 114,517 cruise passengers and crew members, a 33% leap over the previous year.