The first shipment of salt at the Port of Eastport was unloaded at a much faster rate than expected, and the much anticipated inaugural use of the $10 million bulk conveyor system, after an initial glitch, went off without a hitch. "We are beyond pleased, as was the customer," says Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority. "That system ran after a minor glitch for a day and a half flawlessly."
     Beginning on May 31, a total of 14,452 metric tons of salt was unloaded at Eastport from the Star Zeta, which had previously unloaded about 27,000 tons in Searsport. William Massow, vice president of operations for New England Salt Company, which imported the salt from Morocco, is hoping that another shipment will be made in the fall, with perhaps 25,000 coming to Eastport and 35,000 to 40,000 tons to Searsport. The salt unloaded at Eastport was tarped and is being stored at the bulk storage pad at the port until it is sold and distributed to be used on the roads in eastern and northern Maine.
     "We wanted to start with a partial vessel and see how everything works out," says Massow. "There were a few glitches, but everything since has been smooth, which is expected."
     It was anticipated that the operation could take 43 hours, and it ended up being finished in 34 hours. Al Day, general manager of Federal Marine Terminals (FMT), which operates the port terminal, says it was expected that the salt would be unloaded at the rate of 300 tons an hour, and the longshoremen ended up averaging 425 tons an hour, which surprised those who were watching the operation. "I'm proud we did such a good job. Everybody put their best foot forward here," says Day of the longshoremen and FMT staff. For a product that had not been handled previously in Eastport and for the first use of the conveyor system, Day says, "They more than beat our expectations, which we find they often do for us."
     Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt, who watched the operation for two days, notes that the salt shipment is the first time that the conveyor system in which the state and the port authority invested has been used. The state invested $4.5 million, the federal government $2.5 million and the port authority the remainder of the funding. "It shows that the investment was the right thing to do," he says.
      The commissioner says the state will continue to make investments in the port, noting the recent funding for the new port access road. Eastport is one of the three cargo ports in Maine to which the state has made a commitment. "It's important to make the investments so things like this can happen," the commissioner notes. With PotashCorp closing its Picadilly Mine near Sussex, New Brunswick, salt needs to be imported closer to where it will be used, he points out. Along with supplying salt in New Brunswick, the Picadilly Mine also provided salt for parts of eastern and northern Maine. With the closing of the mine, New England Salt has been receiving inquiries about supplying salt into New Brunswick, which could be imported through Eastport.
      Bernhardt adds, "We hope to see in the near future biomass like wood chips" being exported through the port. "It will help the fiber industry in Maine, since we've lost some paper-making and biomass plants." Of the port's conveyor system, Bernhardt says, "We hope to be pushing the button more often."
      Bernhardt considered the operation very successful, says Gardner. The port director notes that several days were spent fine-tuning the conveyor system beforehand and that it performed well. The belt tension on the shiploader ended up having to be adjusted, but that was fixed in 45 minutes and "the system ran flawlessly ever since."
     The operation used both the conveyor system and trucks to increase the offload rate. "The faster we can do it, the better," notes Gardner. Federal Program Integrators, which is working on the new port access road, provided trucks at the beginning, and then local trucking firms were used. Gardner believes the offload rate was highly competitive and at times exceeded the rate at Searsport, which has offloaded salt from hundreds of ships, although there was an expected slowdown near the end of the Eastport operation. "We learned a lot on how we can maximize this further."
     Noting that in its operations to offload salt Searsport uses trucks that have to drive a distance to the storage pile, Gardner says of Eastport's setup, "Having the bulk yard effectively right at the pier is a tremendous advantage." However, he adds, "We're not trying to take business from Searsport but to get more business for Maine. We're hoping that New England Salt can find advantages by importing it through Eastport." Gardner notes that employees at the Sprague terminal at Searsport were helpful with advice about the offloading process.
      "There was a lot of angst about getting this turned on," Gardner says, referring to the conveyor system that was completed three years ago. "We thought it would be in 2015, but due to the market conditions on wood chips, it didn't happen." The salt shipment gave the port the chance to show that the system can work and is not only capable "but quite an asset to us."
     Other potential customers who would use the conveyor system for exporting cargo were brought in to view the operation, and Gardner says they were pleased. "So much is to be brought out of this," he notes of salt operation. "We had a lot to prove to a lot of people. We made a lot of promises over the past two years, and we are going to make good on them."
     The port director adds, "A big tip of the cap to the men and women of the longshoremen's association. At the end of the day someone has to turn it on and make it all work." While there was a steep learning curve, Gardner says, "Two or three hours into this and you would have swore we had done 100 ships. At the end of this if it wasn't for the people who work there, none of this would work."