Quebec Travel

Archive for March, 2011

Shipping goods across the vast Canadian territories and across the American border, both to Alaska and the continental United States is a tricky task. Finding the best solution to solve your needs from end-to-end can be difficult and time consuming. There are many aspects of shipping including routing, packing, transportation customs clearance and documentation which need to be taken care of and consulting or using an ocean freight forwarding service provider is a necessity in order to manage the timely and safe delivery of goods.

Shipping Aspects

For the timely transportation of goods, a freight forwarding company maintains a network of transporters and clearance agents all over Canada for timely end-to-end shipping. Transportation across Canada and internationally may easily involve a multitude of transporters from Canadian involved in trucking, railway and air cargo other than shipments to and from ocean, river and lake cargo ports. Such a vast system of transportation with the many carriers involved requires freight forwarding services which find you the quickest and most cost effective routes with respect to your requirements in relation to destination, time and goods quantity / weight. Other aspects include insurance, container management (selection, loading, offloading and other logistic management services).

Choosing containers according to your business and transportation needs is an important aspect of shipping via waterways and ocean routes. The following are the types of services offered by freight forwarding companies and transporters to best fit your requirements.

- Transportation services and Import/export Licensing services

- Customs clearance and Entry processing

- Container loading and logistics management; FCL (full cargo containers)/LCL (less than container load)/ NCL (non-containerized loads)

- Documentation: LCs (Letters of credit-analysis and negotiations), B/L, commercial invoice, certificates of origin, insurance, and other documents for the clear at home-port /destination-port customs (e.g. Inspection certificates etc)

- End-to-end delivery coordination and Warehouse to Warehouse insurance/ all risk insurance

Canadian Shipping Facts

According to statistical surveys taken in 2006, the capability of Canadian ports in terms of annual cargo tonnage capacity is mentioned as under;

- All Canadian maritime ports combined handled more than 466 million metric tons of cargo

- Ports handled more than 3.9 million containers (20 foot equivalent), with a tonnage of about 33.0 million metric tons which signified an annual growth of about 4% during the peak recession period.

- Canadian ports handles up to 204 metric tons of cargo to and from international destinations other than the US.

- The largest port in Canada, Port of Vancouver, handled more than 80 million tons of internationally shipped ocean cargo

- Cargo to and from the United States was at 130 million metric tons of which nearly 85 million tons were shipped from Canada to destinations within the US. This traffic contributed to about 40% of international maritime shipping to and from Canada

The following is a list of maritime cargo ports in Canada and their locations;

Sea ports

Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador, Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Melford, Nova Scotia, Saint John, New Brunswick, Sept-Iles, Quebec, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Churchill, Manitoba, Fraser Port, British Columbia, Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Surrey, British Columbia, Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia.

Inland Lake ports

Hamilton, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Port of Montreal, Nanticoke, Ontario, Oshawa, Ontario, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Port of Toronto, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

River Ports

Montreal, Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Becancour, Quebec.

References:

Wikipedia: Shipping

www[dot]dolliffco[dot]com/freight.html

Shipping in Canada by Statistics Canada

Cebu City is one of the most important cities in the Philippines. It is hailed as “The Queen City of the South” due to its importance in trade, shipping and tourism in that part of the country.

Geography

Cebu City lies along the eastern shore of Cebu Province in the Visayan region. It has a total land area of 291.2 square kilometers and a population of some 800,000 people according to the latest census. The city consists of 80 barangays divided into two districts. The native dialect is Cebuano.

Trade and Economy

While the cities of Manila and Makati are the business centers of the northern Philippines, Cebu is the trade capital of the south, Visayas and Mindanao.

Because of its location, it is only natural that business in Cebu would revolve around the sea and seafaring. The city is the country’s largest shipping hub, being home to 80% of all domestic shipping lines. Seafood is abundant in the area, and in fact one type of fish was named after the hero Lapu-Lapu (see below). Recently the outsourcing of companies to Asia has benefited the Cebuano people. Many have found jobs in call centers since English is widely spoken.

One of the Philippines’ two international airports, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, is a half-hour drive from the city. Due to its strategic location, Cebu is often used as a hopping point by travelers to other tourist destinations in the region.

History

Even before the advent of Spanish rule, Cebu was already a well-developed and prosperous city that enjoyed trade relations with other Southeast Asian countries. On April 7, 1521 the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the island. He was welcomed and befriended by Raja Humabon, the king of Cebu. Humabon and his people converted to Catholicism and became the first first Filipino Christians. But the people of nearby Mactan Island were not so friendly, and Magellan was killed in battle by their king, Lapu-Lapu.

In 1562, more than forty years after the death of Magellan, the Spaniards under Miguel Lopez de Legaspi returned to the islands. Legaspi then established a new Spanish colony with Cebu as its capital.

Sights

Cebu City is a major tourist destination in the Philippines. Its best-known landmark is the Cross of Magellan. Legend says that it was erected by the explorer upon his landing on the island. It is sacred among Filipino Christians, who regard it as the symbol of the birth of their faith. In 1835, the local bishop ordered that the cross be moved to a wooden case and guarded in a chapel. This was to protect the cross from being vandalized by devotees who would chip away pieces at a time.

Nearby is the Minor Basilica of the Holy Infant (Basilica Minore de Santo Nino). The church is home to the country’s first religious image, the Santo Nino.

Every year in January, the famous Sinulog festival takes place. Originally a dance ritual in which dancers mimicked the motion of the river (sulog), it is now performed in honor of the Infant Jesus.

Sacramento, the capital city of California has had the distinction of being termed as Americas Most Integrated City. From Greek to Asian to Croatian, and all that is in between, the city boasts of a rich cultural heritage and diverse multi-ethnic forms, which is reflected in its yearly festivals and fairs and other celebrations. In some ways, this beautiful city owes its strength of character and ambiance to its versatile past and hence the many diverse offerings and celebrations. Old Sacramento, which is situated on the waterfront, boasts of surviving remnants from the gold rush period, and the world famous Fort Sutter.

From the Greek Food Festival to the Croatian Extravaganza to the Dragon Drum Boat Festival, this citys eclectic fusion of cultures reflects its acceptance and reception of diversity. The Sacramento Opera, the Sacramento Area Performing Arts, and the Sacramento Ballet, are fine examples of the refined and sophisticated manner in which this city entertains the locals as well as its visitors. Also, if you want to experiment with different styles, the Studio Theatre or the California Music Circus might seem like good options.

Sacramento is home to several festivals and fairs, and people from all over the world flock towards this city. The festivals and fairs within this city have made enormous contributions towards increasing and expanding the economy of Sacramento. Every year, the traditional Jazz Music Festival is held over the Memorial Day weekend. Another popular event is The California State Fair, which attracts scores of tourists from all over the world. Held each year for the past 152 years, this fair attracts more than a million tourists every year and offers loads of entertaining performances and other fun exhibits. With its petting zoo and its livestock show, this fair is an all time favorite with the children, as they are even allowed to milk goats and cows.

The Strauss Festival of Elk Grove features colorfully costumed dancers and symphony musicians, producing music by Johann Strauss, Viennas Waltz King. Situated on the edge of the lake, this festival is held for four days in the last week of July every year. Pleasant evening breezes and warm lights reflected on the surface of the water make this festival a beautiful sight. The Sacramento Jazz Jubilee attracts hundreds of people from all over. With the abundance of food and music, this festival is one of the most famous ones around. The Sacramento Jazz Festival is another big festival. The Japanese Cultural Bazaar is very famous and visitors from all over flock here to experience this.

Being a haven for the culturally inclined, Sacramento has visitors flocking towards it from different states as well as different countries. Situated in a picturesque valley of luxuriant tree canopies and meandering rivers, Sacramento offers diverse cultural and ethnic influences. From the restaurants to the festivals and fairs, Sacramento is a virtual kaleidoscope of entertainment. Home to the last remains of the Gold Rush days; this modern day metropolis has loads of festivals, fairs and bazaars, making it an exiting tourist destination for the rich and the famous.