Lafarge Canada awarded NACC Shipping Canada Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers Ltd., a long-term time charter agreement for the provision of a modern pneumatic cement carrier in early 2018.
To create the new cement carrier, a modern bulk carrier owned by NACC will be converted into a state-of-the-art and energy-efficient pneumatic cement carrier. The converted cement carrier will have maximum cargo deadweight in excess of 12,500 metric tons.
The cement carrier conversion process will take place over the next ten months, following which the vessel will immediately commence transportation service for Lafarge Canada, under the Canadian flag. The vessel will primarily carry cement from Lafarge Canada’s production facility located in Bath, Ontario, to distribution facilities throughout the Great Lakes but the vessel will be capable of other services for Lafarge. NACC Shipping Canada will operate and manage the vessel in Canada.
“NACC is very pleased to be awarded this long-term contract with Lafarge Canada following their very rigorous bid process,” said Wayne Smith, a director of NACC.
NACC is a joint venture of Algoma Central Corp. and Nova Marine Holding SA. NACC was created in early 2016 to build a global fleet of cement carriers supporting infrastructure projects worldwide. Starting with just three operating vessels and two projects under development, NACC now has a fleet of nine cement carriers and three cement vessel projects are under development.
