Port authority turns away Russian ship from docking in city

While the Eastport Port Authority has received national publicity for its decision to turn down a request from a Russian-flagged ship to dock at the port -- with the port authority being hailed as taking a stand against Russia for invading Ukraine -- the reasons for the decision were actually more complex.
According to Chris Gardner, executive director of the port authority, a request from the shipping agent for the Fesco Uliss to offload 8,000 tons of a petroleum byproduct at the Port of Eastport was made on March 3, after the ship had not been allowed by the Canadian government to discharge its cargo in Canada at a port on the St. Lawrence Seaway because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While the politics of the U.S. opposition to the Russian invasion played a part in the decision, Gardner notes that "nothing prohibits us from taking Russian ships." After speaking with officials at Federal Marine Terminals, the terminal operator, and its parent company, Fednav Ltd., the decision was made to not allow the ship to dock and unload its cargo of solid pitch, which is used in manufacturing. Among the reasons for the decision were the short notice of only four days and the fact that the port authority had never worked previously with the shipping line. Gardner also notes that solid pitch, which is a petroleum byproduct, is a cargo that the port has not dealt with before. The port authority's charter states that petroleum products will not be handled through the port, so the question of whether the cargo could be offloaded would have had to have been looked into. There also is a shortage of labor at the Estes Head terminal, since the port's longshoremen have been laid off, and there was an uncertainty about how long warehouse space at the terminal would be needed for the product.
"It was not in our best interest to take that vessel," says Gardner. "It was a tough decision to make, from a business standpoint. We've not done that much business of late, but some things go beyond the bottom line."
The ship ended up going to the Dominican Republic to be unloaded.

Other business
At the March 21 meeting of the port authority's board, Gardner said that cost escalation for fuel, equipment rentals and ship pricing because of inflation are having an impact on the timing of the wood chip trial shipment, which was scheduled for this spring. The wood chips that are now at the port terminal for the trial shipment have a shelf life, and the port authority will look at selling the product in any market that benefits the port.
The May 2 visit by the cruise ship The Pearl Mist has been cancelled, so the first visit of the season will be on May 9. The Pearl Mist will return on September 12, October 7, 14 and 21. Also, the Roald Amundsen will visit on September 20.