Port of Toronto

Port of Toronto
Freighter docked in the Port of Toronto
Location
Country	Canada
Location	Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates	43°38′13″N 79°20′56″W / 43.637°N 79.349°W / 43.637; -79.349Coordinates: 43°38′13″N 79°20′56″W / 43.637°N 79.349°W / 43.637; -79.349
Details
Opened	1793[1]
Operated by	PortsToronto
Size	21 ha (52 acres)[2][note 1]
Available berths	7[3][note 2]
Draft depth	8.2 metres (27 ft)[2]
Chairman	Robert D. Poirier[2]
Warehouse space	23,200 square metres (250,000 sq ft)[3]
Statistics
Vessel arrivals	178 (2018)[2]
Annual cargo tonnage	2,179,795 metric tonnes (2018)[2]
Annual revenue	C$9.109 million (2018)[2]
Net income	C$3.645 million (2018)[2]
Main imports	Aggregate/stone, cement, salt, sugar[2]
Website www.portstoronto.com/port-of-toronto.aspx

The Port of Toronto is an inland port in Toronto, Ontario, Canada located on the eastern shore of the Toronto Harbour in an area known as the Port Lands. The port is operated by PortsToronto. PortsToronto directly operates a 21-hectare (52-acre) paved facility consisting of Marine Terminal 51, Warehouse 52, and the International Marine Passenger Terminal in the southwest corner of the Port Lands.^[2]

History[]

The first commercial shipments to arrive in the Toronto shipment arrived at Fort Rouillé in 1749. It took until 1793, when Toronto was founded, for a shipping port to be established. In the early 1800s, the rise of Steam-powered vessels and the opening of the Beauharnois Canal in 1985 and Williamsburg canal in 1849, made through travel by ship from the Atlantic Ocean to Toronto possible, greatly increasing the usage of the port. In the 1850s, the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway, the Grand Trunk Railway, and the Great Western Railway commenced operations to the port along the Toronto waterfront, transforming the port into a intermodal cargo hub. In 1858, the Eastern Gap was dug out, making it easier to access the port from the east side of Lake Ontario.^[4]

In 1911, the Toronto Harbour Commission was founded and from 1912 to 1925, the Toronto Harbour Commission, now PortsToronto, revealed a large overall plan for the Toronto waterfront. The plan saw the clearing of old piers, the filling of waterlots and the Port Lands area, where the current Port of Toronto of is located. In 1955, Marine Terminal 11 opened, it was the first of three 100,000-square-foot warehouses to be constructed. In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened, making the port accessible to ocean freighters with a 27-foot draft. In 1962, the Toronto Harbour Commission took over operation of the marine terminals on the harbour. In 1966, Marine Terminal 51 opened at the entrance of the Shop Channel in the Port Lands. In 1969, Marine Terminal 35 became the busiest terminal in the harbour. and in 1985 intermodal operation commenced at the terminal.^[4]

Through the 1990s, traffic to the port decreased and more and more cargo was being transported over rail and roads. The current operator of the port, PortsToronto, was established in 1998 through the Canada Marine Act to help modernize and consolidate the declining operations at the port. Before this, the Port of Toronto had been governed by the Upper Canada, the Toronto Harbour Trust, and then the Toronto Harbour Commission. In 2005, the International Marine Passenger Terminal was opened. It was originally meant to be used by a ferry service to Rochester, but the service never started and in 2012, the terminal started to be used as a port of call for Great Lakes cruises.^[4]

Cargo service[]

The tonnage of cargo passing through the port is made up mostly of sugar to the Redpath refinery and aggregate materials such as sand, gravel and salt.^[5] In 2015, the port received 1.7 million tonnes of cargo, 36th-largest in Canada. By comparison, Colborne, Ontario shipped 1.671 million tonnes while Hamilton handled 13.66 million tonnes. Total tonnage handled in Canadian ports was 466.148 billion tonnes.^[6][7] There are 3 miles (4.8 km) of deep-water wharfage for the loading and unloading of bulk products. Marine terminals include inside and outside storage, and some 6,000 square feet (560 m²) of berthing space for ships carrying general cargo.^[8]

Passenger service[]

Passenger traffic is handled by the International Marine Passenger Terminal. The terminal was originally built as a passenger terminal for a ferry to Rochester, New York, but the service was discontinued after less than one year. Since then, the terminal has seen growth as a port for Great Lakes cruises.

Notes[]

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