This is a sad end to a unique operation which used an abundant local mineral (there is lots of gypsum left in the ground, but synthetic gypsum and the economy have left the industry devastated.) The mine and port were joined by a railroad, the Windsor & Hantsport, a short line that was once part of Canadian Pacific's Dominion and Atlantic Railway (DAR.) Fundy Gypsum was the line's only customer recently and it has also been shut down.
The port of Hantsport, once a booming shipbuilding centre in the age of sail, is home to a huge warehouse and modern shiploader which have been idled since the last ship was loaded earlier this year. The tug Spanish Mist which was owned by CGC, was sold in the spring to the Magdelan Islands.
The other Hantsport Industry CKF (Canadian Keyes Fibre) now uses recycled paper as the main component of its paper products, and no longer brings in pulpwood or wood pulp by water to its mill as it once did.
Gypsum Transportation, the shipping arm of USG, and prior to that Fundy Gypsum itself were operators of many notable ships over the years, usually with the prefix "Gypsum" but sometimes commemorating important personages, and since World War II all self-unloaders.
Its most recent fleet upgrade saw two new self-unloaders, Gypsum Centennial built in 2001 and Gyspum Integrity built in 2008. Ostensibly sister ships, they could carry 42,000 tonnes, and unload gypsum at a rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour. These ships have now found work in other bulk trades.
Hantsport posed an interesting challenge due to its tidal range in excess of 50 feet - the largest of any commercial port in the world. Ships had to arrive in port on a rising tide (the wharf dried out at low tide) and sail on the high tide or risk being stranded. Loading time was 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and the ship had to sail no matter how much cargo had been taken on. The new ship loaders could load in excess of 10,000 tonnes per hour each. These were amongst the fastest loaders on earth when commissioned in 2004.
Gypsum Centennial loaded January 2, 2011 in 4 hours and six minutes, but loaded to less than capacity because of the lack of demand at the other end. At that time it was reported that there might be one or two more shiploads left in the warehouse.
At its peak the port saw up to a dozen ships a month and exported 2 mn tonnes of gypsum a year. The material went to such ports as Boston, Stoney Point, NY, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah and Tampa. Several of those plants have now been shuttered. USG still operate a mine in Cape Breton and ships through Little Narrows, NS, which is a seasonal port on the Bras d'Or Lakes. Some of its product goes to Quebec and Ontario for use in cement manufacturing, but even that trade is threatened.
Some member of the Gypsum fleet:




has just turned the ship to face outbound and is nudging it to the dock while it stems the tide. The ship was built in 1987 and was 19,075 deadweight tonnes. It was sold in 2010 to Dubai, where it is trading as Silica II (no doubt named for an abundant material in the United Arab Emirates.)



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