Containerized traffic in the third quarter increased sharply at the port of Halifax, thanks notably to the sudden spurt of container vessels diverted from the Port of Montreal during the series of docker strikes in August, just-released statistics show.

The Nova Scotia maritime hub handled 156,000 TEUs in Q3, up 16.5% from a year earlier. Cumulative container cargo of 373,000 TEUs for the first nine months of the year, however, represented a decline of just over 10% while total cargo was down 4.8% at 3.2 million tonnes.

Commenting on the Q3 container performance, the Halifax Port Authority stated: “The increase is a result of an import surge in Asian cargo over Q2 following the resumption of global manufacturing related to COVID-19, increasing larger vessels (per photo of 15,500 CMA CGM Brazil) calling at each of the terminals, and cargo diverted to Halifax during industrial action in Montreal.” (Photo by Steve Farmer)