Melford International Terminal
Encyclopedia
Melford International Terminal is a proposed marine terminal
Marine terminal
The term Marine terminal may apply to:* A Berth * A Dock * A Ferry slip* Or even the whole Port* A Wharf...

 to be built in the community of Middle Melford
Middle Melford, Nova Scotia
Middle Melford, is a small community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County.-References:*...

, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

.

If constructed, Melford Terminal would be the closest deep-water terminal in mainland North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

.

As of September 2010, construction has not yet begun, however, the developer Melford Terminal International Inc. has proposed that Phase I of the project could become operational in 2013 should economic conditions allow for construction to begin in fall 2010.

Location

Located approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) south of the town of Mulgrave
Mulgrave, Nova Scotia
Mulgrave is a small town on the Strait of Canso in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Canada; immediately across from the town of Port Hawkesbury. As of 2006 the population was 879....

, the facility would be located on the western shore of the Strait of Canso
Strait of Canso
The Strait of Canso , is a strait located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula from Cape Breton Island....

 partly on public and private property.

Components

The Melford International Terminal proposal includes the following components:
  • a 3-berth marine container terminal capable of hosting post/new-Panamax
    Panamax
    Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...

     and Malaccamax
    Malaccamax
    Malaccamax is a naval architecture term for the largest size of ship capable of fitting through the -deep Strait of Malacca. Because the Sunda Strait is even shallower at minimum depth, a post-Malaccamax ship would need to use even longer alternate routes such as:*Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait,...

     container vessels
  • an intermodal
    Intermodal freight transport
    Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...

     rail facility
  • a logistics park
  • a 32 km (19.9 mi) rail spur from the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
    Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
    The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Sydney and Truro with spurs at Sydney, Point Tupper, Trenton and Stellarton....

     mainline in Linwood
    Linwood, Nova Scotia
    Linwood is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Antigonish County.Linwood, Nova Scotia is a small coastal community located half way between the town of Antigonish and the Canso Causeway. Located around Linwood Harbour, it is a great swimming and boating location...


Timeline

The project was conceived in 2005 when west coast North American container terminals were struggling to clear a massive backlog of freight shipments, largely imports from Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. The announced conversion of the Fairview Terminal at the Prince Rupert Port Authority
Prince Rupert Port Authority
The Prince Rupert Port Authority is a port authority operating under the Canada Marine Act as an autonomous and commercially viable agency...

 is believed to have been the impetus for creating a similar facility in northeastern Nova Scotia.

A search for suitable geography within proximity of existing rail lines highlighted a property known as the "Melford Industrial Reserve" - Crown land in Middle Melford owned by the Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Nova Scotia
The Government of Nova Scotia refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....

 which was set aside by its Crown corporation Industrial Estates Limited
Industrial Estates Limited
Industrial Estates Limited was a Crown corporation established by the Government of Nova Scotia in 1963.IEL stemmed from the Voluntary Planning Act, instituted by Premier Robert Stanfield's administration in the same year...

 for industrial development in the 1960s after the Canso Causeway
Canso Causeway
The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...

 was constructed. In determining the feasibility of extending rail service to the location, it was noted that an abandoned rail corridor connected the nearby town of Mulgrave, which would lessen construction and right of way purchasing costs.

During the facility's design phase, it was noted that a critical part of the area immediately onshore where infilling and pier construction would take place, was privately owned. This resulted in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough forcing the expropriation
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

 of private home owners who had lived in the community for generations.

The project received environmental assessment approval by the Government of Nova Scotia and the Government of Canada in October 2008, at the height of the U.S. financial system's liquidity crisis. Project partners had originally included a major U.S. terminal operator SSA Marine, as well as various shipping lines and financing companies. Following the onset of the global recession and dramatic drop in international shipping, SSA Marine and many other international partners gave up their stake in Melford International Terminal and the project was dormant for much of 2008-2010.

On July 7, 2010, Maher Terminals announced that they had taken an unspecified stake in the Melford Terminal project. Maher Terminals is the designated operator of the Prince Rupert Container Terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...

 on behalf of the Prince Rupert Port Authority
Prince Rupert Port Authority
The Prince Rupert Port Authority is a port authority operating under the Canada Marine Act as an autonomous and commercially viable agency...

. Maher is also the designated operator of the Elizabeth ExpressRail facility in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey
Port Elizabeth, New Jersey
Port Elizabeth is an unincorporated area within Maurice River Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08348....

 on behalf of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state port district, established in 1921 through an interstate compact, that runs most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports, within the Port of New York and New Jersey...

.

The current timeline released by the proponents states that Phase I of the Melford Terminal could be operational in 2013 if construction were to begin in fall 2010. Construction will only take place if economic conditions warrant.
Proponents
Proponents of the Melford facility note the economic development that would benefit economically depressed Guysborough County and the town of Mulgrave.

Opponents
Following the 2005 announcement of the Melford International Terminal, a group of marine infrastructure owners in Sydney
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 have developed a competing proposal to dredge Sydney Harbour at an estimated cost of $40 million to accommodate deep draft container ships and build a 2-3 berth container terminal at the Sydport Industrial Park, the former navy base in Point Edward
Point Edward, Nova Scotia
Point Edward is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.It is located on the southwest shore of the North West Arm of Sydney Harbour, immediately north of the community of North West Arm, south of Edwardsville and west of Westmount.Point Edward is also the name of a headland...

 at a cost of $150 million. This proposal would not require construction of a rail line as the location is already served by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway
The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Sydney and Truro with spurs at Sydney, Point Tupper, Trenton and Stellarton....

. Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

 visited Sydney in December 2010 where he announced the Government of Canada would contribute $20 million to the Sydney project, on top of a $15 million contribution from the Government of Nova Scotia and $2 million from the municipality and Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power
Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a power generating and delivery company in Nova Scotia. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board .-History:...

.Sydney Harbour dredging to get federal funds A contract was signed in April 2011 with Netherlands engineering firm Boskalis for the dredging work in Sydney Harbour to take place in fall 2011.Contract signed for dredging for Sydney harbour

Shipping industry observers also note that the publicly-owned Port of Halifax is a long-established deep water port with 2 container terminals located 300 km (162 nmi) southwest of the proposed Melford Terminal and Halifax already has existing CN rail
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

connections to the rest of North America while operating at below 50% capacity. Furthermore, the Port of Halifax has been expanding the piers at both the South End Halifax Container Terminal and the Fairview Cove Container Terminal to accommodate larger ships.

Other opponents include private property owners whose land was expropriated as well as environmentalists.

External links

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