An agreement finalized in January means the number of trips up and down Howe Sound by large ships is rising.
Star Shipping, which owns Squamish Terminals, and Westwood Shipping started working more cooperatively in February.
Ron Anderson of Squamish Terminals reported the deal means the number of vessel calls at his port facility is going to increase from six or seven a month to 10 or 11 a month.
Westwood is owned by Washington State-based forestry company Weyerhaeuser and has a fleet of six vessels. Star on the other hand is an international shipping company with a fleet of 70 ships.Anderson said the Westwood ships are good ships and they are comparable to the Star vessels.
Both companies move forest products between North America and Asia.
"It would make sense instead of chasing each other around, they develop trade routes or service routes," Anderson said of the new relationship between the two companies.
Anderson confirmed that the cooperative relationship between the companies means there will be increased activity at Squamish Terminals.
"What that means to us is we will be seeing more vessels and a variety of vessels," said Anderson.
The employment levels at Squamish Terminals aren't significantly impacted at this point. Anderson said while the port will be busier there isn't much additional freight moving through the facility. He added that efforts are constantly under way to increase the cargo volume moving through Squamish.
Outbound pulp is by far the most common commodity moved through Squamish Terminals. The port also handles newsprint, packaged lumber, plywood and steel goods.
Anderson noted that all the steel used at the Rutherford power project north of Whistler came through Squamish Terminals from Asia. He said his company is always targeting new cargo types.
According to the Squamish Terminals website, the total vessel calls for the year is expected to be as high as 140.
