Port of Montreal welcomes first ocean-going vessel of 2008

The M/V Valentina, with Captain Volker Huba at the helm, crossed Montreal's port limits at Sorel at 0:21 a.m. today, and became the first ocean-going vessel to reach the Port of Montreal in 2008.

The vessel also inaugurates the new navigational season to Montreal. The Valentina is a Marshall Island-flagged vessel operated by OOCL, a shipping line represented in Montreal by McLean Kennedy. A containership, it has a capacity (deadweight) of 1,853 TEUs. Arriving from the Port of Antwerp (Belgium), the ship docked this morning at Montreal Gateway Terminals Section 77, operated by Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership. Captain Huba will be presented with the traditional Gold-Headed Cane at a press conference and reception at the Port of Montreal Building. The Gold-Headed Cane is a prize awarded at the beginning of each new navigation year, to the captain of the first ship to reach the Port of Montreal directly from overseas.

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