NEW VENTURE FOR CANADA MARITIME

Canada Maritime has taken delivery of the first of two vessels destined to be the largest and most powerful serving the Montreal Gateway when they enter service later this year.

Delivered early from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery in South Korea, Canmar Venture will commence operations in Canada Maritimes transAtlantic services in July. In September, sister ship Canmar Spirit will also enter service.

The two vessels will secure Canada Maritimes position as the largest carrier providing container shipping services in the North America-Europe trade lane via the Montreal Gateway.

The ships are of a specialised design that is able to cope with the particular requirements of the St Lawrence River trades. Each is 294 metres long and 32.2 metres wide with a draught of 10.78 metres. Their nominal capacity is 4100 teu, with a service speed of 22 knots.

The ships will be the largest container ships ever deployed on the St Lawrence River, and have been built to cater for the growth in trade that our customers are anticipating over the next decade," said Terry Burrows, Senior Vice President of CP Ships. They are bigger vessels and, thanks to the well-thought out design, will be more than capable of coping within the rigours of the St Lawrence and the North Atlantic."

Canmar Venture and Canmar Spirit will operate in Route 1 of Canada Maritime's Northern Service, which has three weekly routings through the Montreal Gateway. Route 1 links Montreal with Thamesport, Antwerp and Le Havre; Route 2 links Montreal with Antwerp and Hamburg; and Route 3 links Montreal with Liverpool.

These newbuildings will mark the third time in eight years that new tonnage has been introduced into Canada Maritime's Northern Service. The first ships of 2200 teu capacity entered service in 1996, followed by 2800 teu ships in 1998.

This is the second time that the Canmar Spirit and Canmar Venture names have been used in the Canada Maritime fleet. The earlier Spirit and Venture were retired last year after many years of reliable service.

The new vessels are two of three ships ordered to operate Route 1 of Canada Maritimes Northern Service. The third newbuilding is being supplied by OOCL, Canada Maritimes long-standing partner in the St Lawrence Co-ordinated Service (SLCS).

Introduction of these ships demonstrates our determination to be the operators of the most modern transAtlantic fleet and provide our customers with the most efficient and cost effective services," Mr Burrows continued. The new ships will use the latest technology in navigation and ice-breaking capability to ensure uninterrupted services through the Port of Montreal.

Since Canada Maritime was created in 1984 we have repeatedly improved services enhancing frequency, capacity and the overall network served. Our development programme saw us adding owned offices to an agency network to widen overall market coverage.

"Thanks to this strategy, Canada Maritime sets the standard for door-to-door transport in the North America - North Europe/Mediterranean trade lanes."

The new ships are part of Canada Maritimes parent companys US$800 million fleet replacement programme, which will draw to a close this year.

The gateway system we employ is a premier service product that routes transAtlantic cargoes via the Montreal Gateway to and from markets in Europe, Canada and the US Midwest/North East by road, rail and barge. Montreal provides the shortest link between these markets," continued Mr Burrows.

"Our seamless intermodal links have enabled us to become the most successful carrier through the

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Montreal Gateway by offering the fastest transit times to the major markets in North America to and from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean with efficiencies second to none on the North Atlantic.

"Our new ships will take Canada Maritime forward to even greater successes over the next decade in its transAtlantic trades."
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Notes to editors: Canada Maritime offers intermodal container shipping services between North America and North / Mediterranean Europe via the Montreal gateway. The Northern Service operates over three weekly North Atlantic routes, the Mediterranean Service over two. In both services Canada Maritime deploys ice-strengthened container ships designed to ensure year round schedule integrity. Its weekly Pacific Gateway Service connects the Fraser River Port, just south of Vancouver with China, Japan and South Korea, connecting key markets in Canada, the USA and Asia.

These services are supported by a network of rail, truck and barge links to the North American, European and Asian industrial heartlands.

Canada Maritime is part of CP Ships.

Ref: Ian Matheson/Paul Carrington, Impress Communications Ltd
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