Talks for grain company Parrish and Heimbecker to take over the federally-operated Lake Huron port of Owen Sound, Ont., where it already runs a grain terminal, have sunk with no deal.
The port, on Georgian Bay, is one of 34 “regional/local” ports in Canada now managed by Transport Canada’s port programs directorate, which is tasked with divesting such ports to other public- or private-sector owner/operators.
John Higham, regional director of programs for Transport Canada’s Ontario region, wrote in a Jan. 23 letter to Owen Sound city manager Ruth Coursey that “negotiations have ended without a divestiture being concluded.”
Read Also
U.S. grains: Corn rebounds from contract lows on short covering, bargain buying
Bargain buying and short covering lifted U.S. corn futures on Monday after the market slid to contract lows on expectations for strong U.S. output, traders said.
Transport Canada, he wrote, will continue to operate the Owen Sound port, which “remains available for divestiture.”
A representative for Winnipeg-based P+H wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday on any specific reasons why talks ended without a deal.
P+H’s Great Lakes Elevator Co. grain terminal at Owen Sound has 93,000 tonnes of grain capacity and 11 truck loading bins; it can handle ships up to 750 feet long, including self-unloading ships and bulkers. The facility can also load out to laker vessels and smaller ocean-going “salties.”
As local media have previously reported, the harbour bottom is filling with silt and needs dredging soon for Owen Sound to remain a viable commercial port.
Transport Canada, however, has previously said it plans to deal with the dredging issue only once a deal is sealed for divestiture of the harbour. — AGCanada.com Network
