The Tropical Shipping vessel Tropic Hope has made her inaugural call at Halterm Container Terminal at the Port of Halifax. This is the first of two new Tropical Shipping vessels that will be calling Halifax; the Tropic Island will arrive later this year.
Tropical Shipping is the primary reefer-carrier serving the Caribbean region; these new vessels increase Tropical Shipping’s capacity to bring temperature-controlled cargo to the Caribbean. Schedule integrity will also benefit from the increased speed and efficiency of the new vessels.
Tropic Hope and Tropic Island are among six new Tropical Shipping vessels entering into service. Four of the new vessels, including the Tropic Hope and Tropic Island, are Carib Class vessels which are 160 metres length overall with 1,100 TEU capacity including 270 reefer plugs and can travel up to 20 knots, serving ports in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Palm Beach, Florida, as well as Puerto Rico, the Eastern Caribbean and the Virgin Islands.
The other two new vessels are smaller Mini Express Class and will carry up to 300 TEU with a speed of 14 knots. They can deliver cargo in ports as shallow as 12 feet and will serve Providenciales, Marsh Harbour, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic.
“Tropical Shipping has been and continues to be the leader in ocean transportation to the Caribbean. Tropical develops and maintains outstanding relationships with our customers and provides them unmatched on time reliability and fast, purpose built, versatile ships. Our vessels are first to market with our customers’ freight,” said Tim Martin, Vice President Commercial & Trades, Tropical Shipping.
Halterm maintains a basic workforce of more than 140 longshoremen. According to Kim Holtermand, Halterm’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, “the terminal has strengthened its basic workforce, operational capabilities and its handling capacity to meet its commitments to Tropical Shipping around the Carrier’s delivery of the larger capacity vessels. This is a landmark day in our service to Tropical Shipping and we are proud to be playing our part in the Carrier’s ongoing success.”
“Congratulations to Tropical Shipping on the successful launch of your newest vessels,” said Karen Oldfield, President and CEO, Halifax Port Authority. “We are excited to welcome the captain and crew of the Tropic Hope to our port city, and we look forward to our continued work with Tropical Shipping, Halterm and our rail carrier CN Rail to further develop trade between Eastern Canada and the Caribbean.”
