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Here's good news for Canada's Port of Prince Rupert and, by extension, Canadian National Railway Co. China Ocean Shipping (COSCO) has added the port as a stop for its CEN container service and will increase port calls to Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

COSCO's CEN service originates in Dalian, China, calls on other Chinese ports in Xingang, Qingdao and Shanghai, then sails to Prince Rupert, and Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. The service features five container vessels ranging in capacity from 5,400 to 8,200 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The port, CN and Maher Terminals of Canada Corp. worked to attract COSCO to Prince Rupert. The three parties partnered to build an intermodal terminal and distribution center at the northern B.C. port last year.

The port's volume has been surging so far in 2008. In the first quarter, tonnage totaled 3.1 million metric tons, a 40 percent jump compared with first-quarter 2007's total.
 
Increasing global demand for coal and petroleum coke, continued strong markets for agricultural products, and a ramp up of new business lines, such as containers and wood pellets, are contributing to the port's volume growth, Prince Rupert Port Authority officials said.