As two new cranes now call the Saint John Harbour in New Brunswick home, Craig Estabrooks can’t help but feel they are a symbol of the work that’s been ongoing for months.
Arriving from South Carolina on Friday evening, the President and CEO for Port Saint John, said the new cranes are part of a multi-year modernization project.
“They’re super post-Panamax. They’ll be able to go 23 wide and handle more containers per ship, and it will allow us to bring in bigger ships,” Estabrook’s said in an interview Monday.
These cranes, operated by DP World, are larger than the two cranes already on the harbour. They are expected to be operational by April.
Estabrooks, who has held the role for about 14 months, said a number of partners have been influential in navigating toward growth over his time at the helm.
“I feel like a lot of the plans that we had in place have come to be, and I think that’s really exciting for us, and there are so many more people employed today than there were 14 months ago.”
In 2022, Port Saint John set a new record, moving about 150,000 TEUs – 20-foot equivalent units – up from about 86,000 the year prior.
New infrastructure will allow the port to push its capacity to 325,000.
Terry Wilson, president of ILA Local 273, told Global News growth has led to more union positions. Last week, he said, they welcomed 22 new members.
Wilson noted there’s “excitement” about the growth and work done by DP World.
“We expect to see more members come in as the volume increased, and by having four cranes, we’ll be able to work four cranes simultaneously,” Wilson added.
At Envision Saint John, CEO Paulette Hicks said the work at the port signals growth is on the horizon, and more jobs are coming.
“When we look at the opportunities here, it’s about jobs, it is about how it feeds into all the other businesses, so it’s about population growth. It certainly signals this is a vibrant area,” she said.