Captain Giuseppe Castellano (right) aboard the cruise ship Majestic Princess alongside Captain Jessy Bedard.
The Travel in a cup programme is an original initiative that aims to create links between maritime communities using a simple and universal object: a cup. The project highlights the human exchanges behind port operations and maritime transport.
The initiative was launched by Jessy Bedard, maritime pilot and ambassador for the Port of Québec, in collaboration with the Port of Québec. Its goal is to engage in conversation with people who work on ships over a cup of coffee, to recognise their daily reality and to create a direct link between the port and the crews.
The cup thus becomes a powerful symbol: it represents both this moment of human exchange and the cargo transported on board ships. Like cargo, it travels from port to port, connecting maritime communities through a simple and universal gesture.
In concrete terms, cups bearing the image of the Port of Québec travel on board ships entering and leaving the port. When a captain agrees to participate, the mug accompanies him to his next destination. Once it arrives at another port, it is photographed in its new environment, often with the crew or in front of a landscape emblematic of the location. In return, a local mug can then be sent to Quebec City, continuing a cycle of symbolic exchanges.
Sukhvir Bilkhu (right), Marine Operation and assistant Harbour Master at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority alongside Captain Jessy Bedard.
This project is supported by the Port of Québec as a way to promote the port internationally while highlighting the human dimension of maritime transport. To date, several mugs have already been exchanged with cargo ships, passenger ships and even directly with the Port of Vancouver, thus expanding the network of partner ports.
Each cup becomes an ambassador of consideration, collaboration and openness. Through photos and stories shared on social media, the public can follow these journeys and discover ports as living places, connected not only by trade, but also by the people who work there.
Voyage en tasse demonstrates that a simple idea can become a powerful symbol of exchange and recognition in the maritime community.
The “Cup” aboard the Rik Oldendorff loaded with iron pellets from the Port of Quebec. The first Port of Quebec “Cup” was distributed aboard the iconic Queen Mary 2.
(Photos courtesy of Jessy Bedard)