“I never would have thought in million years that the ban would have lasted this long,” said Curtis Struyk, president of North Carolina-based Carolina Ocean Lines, Inc., an NVOCC and TMX Shipping Co., the freight forwarder. “I am just glad it is over and am looking forward to getting back to business as usual.”

On May 24, following fact-finding trip to Virginia by officials from China’s Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the Chinese government announced a six-month pilot program designed to begin re-opening that critical market to hardwood and softwood logs from the Commonwealth. Under that program, Virginia export logs will be allowed to re-enter China

beginning June 1 via certain designated ports and with enhanced pest treatment and testing protocols under the terms of the pilot program.

“We are still limited to only being able to ship to Shanghai and Jiangsu, but it’s a start and hopefully will be able to ship to other ports in China when the pilot import program is complete in 6 months,” Struyk said.

In April 2011, China banned both hardwood and softwood log exports from Virginia and South Carolina, citing pest interceptions on logs exported from the United States. For the past year, Gov. Bob McDonnell and secretaries from the Commonwealth’s departments of Agriculture & Forestry and Agriculture and Consumer Services have worked to resolve the issue.

Jerry A, Bridges, executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, said the port was preparing for a resumption of the export log business.

“We’re at the tail of the spring harvest season and normally the harvesting slows in the summer because of the heat, but we’re having some customers tell us they are going to work through the summer to help make up for lost time,” Bridges said. “This is really good news for us and all of those people and businesses that are associated with this industry; this is a good first step in getting back to normal.”

In 2011 the value of Virginia’s log exports was estimated at nearly $57 million, down $10 million from 2010. Prior to the ban, Virginia was a major East Coast supplier of logs to China, the world’s largest log importer.

By the end of 2011, net income had risen to $7.1 million, thanks in part to stringent control over expenses. The Port of Montreal handles containers, liquid bulk, dry bulk and grain, and accommodates cruise lines. In 2011, activity in the container sector increased 3.6% over 2010, reaching 12.5 million tonnes of cargo, or 1.36 million TEUs (20-foot

equivalent unit) containers.Turning to liquid bulk, last year the Port handled 10.1 million tonnes, up 34% over 2010. Higher receipts of refined products carried by vessels explain this upswing. Other liquid bulk products rose 9.1% compared to last year, mainly because of an increased demand for ethanol.

For its part, the volume of dry bulk handled rose 7.1%, largely due to more loads of

gypsum, fertilizer, coal and iron ore. This increase does not include grain traffic, which

underwent a transition year with the July 1 transfer of the Grain Terminal’s operations to

the agri-business Viterra. Also, the 2011 season wrapped up with 40 international and river cruises for a total of 38,031 passengers. The Montreal Cruise Committee launched in June 2011 now has nine partners from the Montreal tourist industry actively promoting Montreal as a stopover with travel professionals. The initial results are promising: this year 55,000

passengers are expected, a 46% increase in the number of passengers. The MPA

thanks all the partners on the Montreal Cruise Committee for the great work achieved.

The funds will be spent on annual maintenance of the port’s minimum 35-foot mean low tide depth in the Stockton Deep Water Channel as well as performing overdraft dredging to deepen parts to 37 feet.

There is an on-going battle to control silt build up that can reduce the draft allowance.

“The dredging,” said Port of Stockton Deputy Port Director Mark Tollini, “will allow the port to continue to provide accommodations for large ocean-going cargo vessels transiting up the channel from the San Francisco Bay.”

The deeper the draft, the better (financially) for vessels and shippers. There is a current federally funded environmental study underway through the U.S Army Corps of Engineers regarding deepening the draft to 40 feet. The ability to offer 40-foot draft to carriers and shippers would tremendously increase the value of the port.