At its cocktail reception at the beginning of the year, the Port of Sept-Îles (PSI) revealed that it had reached a tonnage record for the second year in a row, with 38.5 million tonnes of cargo transiting through its facilities in 2024. This surpasses the record of 36.6 million tonnes set last year.
With this performance, PSI maintains its position as Canada’s second largest port for annual volume of activity and the leading ore port in North America. The award of “Best Bulk Port 2024” at the IBJ Awards in Belgium last November confirmed PSI’s innovative and successful status in the international maritime community.
The year 2024 was synonymous with opportunities for expanded collaborations with PSI. In October, the five Canada Port Authorities in Quebec announced a collaboration agreement aimed at strengthening the performance, resilience and efficiency of the St. Lawrence/Saguenay maritime corridor.
The Ecozone Research Chair at Université Laval was also an opportunity for an innovative partnership for PSI. In December, PSI and Université Laval’s faculties of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics and Science and Engineering unveiled the winners of the EcoZone Success Awards. These scholarships, totalling $50,000, are intended to reward students who have decided to carry out their master’s or doctoral research work on the Bay of Sept-Îles.
25 years of shared history
The year 2024 was also an opportunity for PSI to highlight 25 years of port autonomy. Under the theme “25 years of stories shared with you”, this year of celebrations was launched at the PSI Annual General Meeting in front of the local socio-economic community as well as several former PSI administrators. PSI then announced that over the next 12 months, it would unveil 4 pages of thematic stories to take a look back at these 25 years of autonomy:
– Partnerships, unveiled at the Aluminerie Alouette and Port of Sept-Îles’ Partners of Excellence Gala in September.
– Community involvement, unveiled at the 5 à Hutres Maritime 2024 in October.
– Infrastructure, unveiled at the early 2025 reception at HMCS Jolliet.
– Environment, will be unveiled at the 2025 PSI AGM.
Major projects
In May, PSI received a visit from the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, who was in town to announce $10 million in funding from the National Trade Corridors Fund for the Monseigneur-Blanche Wharf modernization project. This announcement allows PSI to complete the financing of the project, which is estimated at $30 million.
A few weeks later, PSI received a visit from Kateri Champagne-Jourdain, MNA for Duplessis, Minister of Employment and Minister responsible for the Côte-Nord, to confirm the allocation of $2.3 million to complete the funding needed for the construction of the new Innu signature pavilion. This project, worth a total of $6.9 million, will allow for the construction of a building with an architectural concept and exterior layout inspired by Innu culture, the main function of which will be to ensure the permanent reception of international cruise passengers at PSI.
Photo from left to right: Mr. Mathieu Fortin, General Manager of Operations at Logistec, Mr. Louis Gravel, President and CEO at SFPPN, Mr. Louis Thériault, Director of Planning and Logistics at Minerai de fer Québec, Ms. Alice Tharenos, President and CEO at Rio Tinto IOC, Ms. Marie-Louise Fontaine, Logistics Manager at Tacora, Mr. Éric Nolin, Director of Operations at Logistec, Mr. José Riopel, General Manager at Rio Tinto IOC and Mr. Pierre Gagnon, President and General Manager at the Port of Sept-Îles.