Trigon Terminals is celebrating a prosperous year, with the export terminal accounting for almost half of the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s (PRPA) 2023 exports.
The 2023 fiscal year was a challenging one for the PRPA, with significant volume declines at the Fairview Container Terminal and the Westview Wood Pellet Terminal. In a year where many ports along the west coast have faced large challenges, the PRPA saw an overall decline of 5 per cent.
The export terminal handled 10.6 million metric tonnes of dry and liquid bulk products in 2023, up from 8.7 million tonnes in 2022. Trigon’s main exports are metallurgical and thermal coal, though the terminal also handles petroleum coke and iron ore pellets.
CEO of Trigon Rob Booker expressed his joy in Trigon’s “banner year” in a Jan. 30 statement on the company’s annual output.
“It was a very strong year for our terminal – in the volumes we handled, our safety and environmental performance and our connections with local communities.
This was in large part due to the close partnership between our valued customers and the Trigon team, in particular the strong commitment of ILWU 523 to ensuring Trigon’s success,” said Booker.
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Over half of Trigon’s exports were sent to the world’s largest coal importer Japan. The country has diversified its steelmaking coal imports after cutting ties with Russia in the fallout of the invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea, India, China and parts of Europe were also major trade partners in 2023 for Trigon.
A legal battle with the PRPA, Trigon’s landlords, continues as it attempts to repurpose its leased lands to export liquid petroleum gas (LPG) with a 2030 federal ban on thermal coal looming over the company.
The company is also looking to construct a second berth to handle mainly hydrogen-as-ammonia exports, which it hopes to be finished by 2028.