Port of Vancouver USA welcomes Saga Navigator on First Visit

VANCOUVER, Wash.-Port of Vancouver USA welcomed the Saga Navigator, commanded by Captain J.S.S. Barreto of India, on its first visit to the port on May 9, 2008.

Barreto, who has been sailing for 26 years, and the 22-member crew were welcomed to Vancouver by Lance Thain, marine operations manager for Merit Steamship Agency, Inc.; Matt Gillespie, superintendent for Ports America, and Mike Schiller, Lars Uglum, Julie Payne, Jon Watson and Matt Oftedahl from the Port of Vancouver USA.

The Saga Navigator was built in Japan and launched in October 2007. It is nearly 654 feet in length, has deadweight of 46,550 tons, has 10 holds and hatches and two 42-ton gantry cranes. The crew for the vessel’s first visit to the Port of Vancouver USA, was from India.

The vessel discharged approximately 7,460 metric tons of steel from the Far East and Asian ports at Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 3, stevedored by Ports America.

The Saga Navigator is owned by Saga Shipholding (Norway) S.A. and operated by Saga Forest Carriers. Saga Forest Carriers is represented locally by Merit Steamship Agency, Inc.

After leaving the Port of Vancouver USA, the vessel sailed to Vancouver, British Columbia where she will discharge steel and load bulk products for Europe.

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The Port of Vancouver, USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

- POV -