HONG KONG: Approximately 10,000 tons of fertilizer is being unloaded at the Port of Ogdensburg for later distribution to farmers and agriculture-based businesses across the north country and other parts of the Northeast, according to officials with the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority.The Cyprus-registered bulk carrier Cinnamon arrived at the Port of Ogdensburg to deliver the dry bulk fertilizer as part of a 10-year public-private marketing agreement signed last year with NASCO-NY, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebec Stevedoring Ltd., to operate the marine terminal at Ogdensburg. The company operates and globally markets 29 marine terminals from Nova Scotia to Chicago along the St. Lawrence River and throughout the Great Lakes.
The dry bulk fertilizer is a new commodity being handled at the Port of Ogdensburg and is earmarked for distribution to agribusinesses and farms in the both the U.S. and Canada, according to Wade A. Davis, executive director of the OBPA.
Mr. Davis said the exact tonnage from the cargo vessel wouldn’t be known until it was completely unloaded, but he expected the fertilizer shipment to surpass the 5,000-ton mark.
“It will be housed in OBPA’s port storage building, distributed as needed to regional farms, loaded by longshoremen and trucked to its final destinations in the U.S. and Canada,” Mr. Davis said.
Built in 2003, the vessel Cinnamon measures 610 by 79 feet and has a gross tonnage of 18,311 tons. The vessel’s arrival marks the first shipment of dry fertilizer to the Port of Ogdensburg for the upcoming growing season. Prior ports of call made by the vessel include Germany, Gibraltar and Spain.
“We welcome this new commodity and the new port customer to the Port of Ogdensburg,” Mr. Davis said. “This new cargo represents an exciting new opportunity for regional farms and agricultural-related businesses.”
Mr. Davis said the authority’s mission is to manage regional infrastructure while working with the private sector to create jobs and investment.
