Belledune Port Authority

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The Port of Belledune is located on the south shore of the Chaleur Bay in northeastern New Brunswick, about thirty-five kilometers northwest of Bathurst and fifty kilometers east of Dalhousie. The port is open to navigation throughout the year.

It is an artificial harbour equipped with a breakwater and three wharfs owned by Belledune Ports Authority. Facilities are within an industrial area and designed primarily for bulk cargo handling. The first wharf was built in 1968 to meet the shipping requirements of Belledune Fertilizer. It is leased and operated by Brunswick Mining and Smelting, a division of Xstrata Zinc Inc. The wharf is capable of receiving ships up to ± 40,000 DWT. It is equipped with a ship loader and a reversible 1.22m x 0.8 km conveyor system. Vessels in excess of 137.16m overall may not be able to load the after hatches easily because the loading gantry only traverses approximately 91.44m of the wharf from its western end. Some shifting may be required and this is normally coordinated by shore officials. Conveyer loading is continuous throughout 24 hours. Product may be chute trimmed, however for vessels with a larger beam width, trimming is accomplished using a small bulldozer craned into the hatch. For vessels loading or discharging without the conveyor system, there is approximately 61m of wharf avaiable at the eastern sector for working mobile cranes. For vessels over 183m, it is advisable to load or discharge the forward hatches (i.e. cargo should be stowed in hatches between approximately 116m to 177m from forward end of the vessel). The recommended maximum freeboard is about 10m to accommodate shore crane discharge or loading. There are at least two mobile cranes avaiable on the dock rated to have 6t/9.15m outreach. The loading rate averages from 75 to 200mt/hr. To load lead ingots or bullion using ship cranes, the loading rate averages 75 to 80t/hr./gang. In addition a 305mm dia. x 1829m pipeline is located on the wharf to service Belledune Port Authority Tank Farm (capacity 43,000m³ - 270,000 bbls) located on the port's property. There is also a smaller pipeline 250mm dia. x 1006m to transfer sulphuric acid in or out by chemical products tanker (Xstrata Zinc). BMS Wharf. The second wharf was built in 1992 to handle coal which is required by the Belledune Power Plant. The wharf is capable of accommodating ships up to ± 100,000 DWT. At present 1.2 million tonnes of coal is handled on the wharf. It is equipped with a Kone bucket wheel ship unloader, operating at a effective rated capacity of 1,750 T.P.H., and a receiving conveyor located on the breakwater which delivers coal to the NB Power storage shed. Both the unloader and conveyor system are owned and operated by NB Power. The ship unloader has a travel of 299.32m. The diameter and width of the unloader bucket wheel is 6.8m x 1.2m respectively. The outside diameter of the unloader arm is 10m. Minimum hatch size 11.59m x 11.59m. Maximum bucket wheel slewing diameter is 20m. Minimum bucket wheel slewing diameter is 9m and the number of buckets is 13. The vertical range of the bottom bucket is 14.78m below dock level and 18m above dock level. Operational hatch coverage is 193.86m x 18.78m. Operational hatch coverage from fenderline is 7.8m to 29.9m. The maximum operational wind (gusting) is 72 km/hr. Coal Wharf. The third wharf, a mixed cargo terminal was built in 1996 to handle bulk and general cargo (Pelletized gypsum, bulk perlite, lead ingots, bulk metallurgical coke, wood pulp, wood pellets, wood chips, lumber, logs, and other forest products, project cargoes, etc.). The wharf is capable of accommodating ships up to ± 50,000 DWT. The terminal is presently leased and operated by Eastern Canada Stevedoring. It includes a 6500 m2 (100m x 65m x 8.3m) freight storage shed which is designed with truck and rail loading docks. There is a paved open storage area of 13.5 hectares to the south and east of the shed. A small wharf is situated in an area to the west of the shed to accommodate tug(s), pilot boat, and other small vessels. Cargo handling equipment presently includes mobile conveyor(s) system, forklifts, front end loaders, 250 ton capacity mobile crane, etc. The service area is equiped with tower lighting, fire hydrants and fire pumps, 550 volts electrical power outlets for the conveyor system and a workshop repair area (west side of shed). Future expansion includes the capability to handle liquid bulk products through pre-installed stainless steel pipeline to the middle section of the dock. Mixed Cargo Terminal.

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