Lakes-fitted Puffin makes inaugural visit to Duluth-Superior

The first of three new vessels operated by Canfornav, Montreal, designated specifically for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway trade made its inaugural visit to the Port of Duluth-Superior in July. Port Director Adolph Ojard welcomed Capt. Cezary Lucywek from Poland during an arrival ceremony held for the vessel.

The Antigua-flag Puffin, owned by Harren & Partner of Bremen, Germany, visited Superior's Cenex Harvest States for about 9,000 metric tons of wheat destined for Venezuela. On her maiden voyage, the vessel entered the Seaway System in early July with magnesite from Bayuquan, China, destined for Baltimore, Windsor, Detroit and Ludington. She then stopped in Thunder Bay for 7,000 tons of wheat before arriving in Duluth and topping off with 9,000 additional tons of wheat in Port Cartier before leaving the System.

Top: The new Puffin visits Superior's Cenex Harvest States. Just above: Port Director Adolph Ojard welcomes Puffin's captain, Cezary Lucywek of Poland.

The Puffin is named after the Atlantic puffin, a small, pigeon-sized seabird that colonizes on northern seacoasts and lives on the open ocean throughout the majority of the year.

The 37,461-deadweight-ton Puffin vessel is one of three Lakes-fitted vessels ordered by Canfornav from a Shanghai, China, shipyard in April 2003. Sister-ship Pochard (named after a duck from Europe and Asia that has gray and black plumage and a reddish head) was due later in July, and the third, yet-to-be-named vessel is scheduled to enter service in October.

Canfornav Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Forest Navigation Co., Ltd., is also in the midst of an another newbuilding program of additional vessels designed specifically for Great Lakes-Seaway trade that also will be named after ducks. These 27,000-deadweight ton bulk vessels were ordered from the Wuhu

Shipyard in China, with the Bluewing making her maiden voyage in February 2002 and sister-ship Greenwing being delivered in June of that year. The Cinnamon entered service in January 2003, and the Mandarin was scheduled for delivery in mid-August 2003.

By the end of 2004, Canfornav, which took over operations from its parent company in 2000, expects to have in place a fleet of 13 new ships in addition to the 25 handy size vessels already under charter for Great Lakes service, ranking the company as one of the largest carriers on the Great Lakes.