CARRIER SPOTLIGHT
STAYING ON COURSE OVER FIVE DECADES, ACL AND THE PORT OF HALIFAX HAVE BUILT AND MAINTAINED A STRONG PARTNERSHIP
Atlantic Container Line’s (ACL) first
call on Halifax was in December 1969 when the Atlantic Star, a first generation vessel (G-1) arrived in Port. In the 50 years since, ACL has continuously double-called the Port, providing a first call in to North America for transatlantic import cargoes and a last port of call for exports to Europe. In 2001, the Grimaldi Group, a private company based in Naples, Italy, bought ACL. The change proved an excellent fit to ACL’s existing services. ACL, with North American headquarters in Westfield, N.J., acts as Grimaldi’s agent for operations between North America and West Africa and between North America and the Mediterranean. Calling four ports along the East Coast of North America, Halifax acts as ACL’s gateway for cargoes moving in and out of Central Canada and the Midwest, and for Atlantic Canada. 14
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Port of Halifax
“With its very reliable rail service and well-established road and feeder connections, Halifax provides our customers with proven fast, dependable transit times to and from European markets,” says Fritz King, ACL’s Canadian managing director. “Halifax’s year-round accessibility and stable, professionally trained labour force, further adds to our shippers’ level of port confidence.” King also points to the Port of Halifax’s major and ongoing infrastructure improvement and expansions, plus technological innovations. “These projects further foster the flow of freight and information to all cargo stakeholders,” he says. It’s a solid relationship, agrees Capt. Allan Gray, president and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority. “The Port of Halifax, and ACL, and parent company Grimaldi have a long history together that all of us at the Port of Halifax are very proud of,” he says.
PHOTO: HPA
By Tom Peters
CAPT. ALLAN GRAY
