BELLEDUNE, N.B. — A new roll-on, roll-off truck trailer freight service between Belledune, N.B. and Corner Brook, Nfld. will take float by early spring.

The Belledune Port Authority has selected the services of Rigel Shipping Canada Inc. of Shediac Cape, N.B. to carry out the sailings.

“We are very excited about the possibility of working with Rigel Shipping Canada,” says Georges Marcoux, Belledune Port Authority president and chief executive officer. “Of the expressions of interest we received for this project, their bid was the most detailed and comprehensive. We believe they will be able to offer an excellent service to Eastern Canadian trucking companies.”

The new service will run twice weekly, year-round and will have the capacity for approximately 150 trailers per trip.

Port Authority Chairman, Rayburn Doucett, boasts “We are confident that this new service, once fully established will offer a competitive alternative for trucking companies for many years to come.”

The new service will reportedly add the needed component to the port of Corner Brook, which is strategically positioned for maximum benefit to its customers.

“We look forward to developing a relationship with the Port of Belledune and to the opportunities this will allow us to provide for trucking companies across the region,” says Ray Pollett, Chairman of the Corner Brook Port Corporation.

For the past 22 years, the primary owners of Rigel Shipping Canada Inc. have operated tankers in Canada. They also currently operate a fleet of modern, double-hull oil tankers, which are on charter to the Canadian oil industry.

“We are very excited to be named the go ahead candidate,” says Rigel Shipping Canada president Brian Ritchie. “We can now negotiate potential contracts with both ports and the stevedoring companies involved, and can now solicit the support of the trucking companies to ensure a viable operation.”

The Port of Belledune is a deep-water port, located along the St. Lawrence Seaway just north of Bathurst, N.B. The port also offers a freight link between Belledune and Jacksonville, Fla. And has been in operation since August 2000.