The logistics were as massive as the ship itself when the MV Green Bergen docked in Yarmouth harbour on July 19 and 20 to pick up a load of frozen herring fillets bound for Europe.

The cargo the ship was picking up was from Scotia Garden Seafoods in Yarmouth and Sable Fish Packers in Shelburne County.

Tim Kaiser of Scotia Garden Seafoods, who declined to say how much cargo they were shipping out, said getting the transport trucks delivering the cargo on and off of the wharf was no small undertaking. Complicating things was that the ship arrived in the midst of the town’s annual Seafest festival and on the morning of July 19 a 10-kilometre run – with a starting point on Water Street, not far from the wharf – was taking place.

Throw in other pedestrian traffic and, well, you get the point. And given the size of the ship it attracted a fair amount of onlookers, although security prevented them from walking onto the wharf where the unloaded and loading was taking place.

This isn’t the first time a ship this size has come to Yarmouth to pick up cargo, but it was the first time the seafood processing companies had chartered the MV Green Bergen, which is flagged in Nassau, Bahamas but based out of Norway.

“Yarmouth needs industry and we like to make use of our port,” said Kaiser. “The decision from the perspective of Sable Fish Packers and ourselves was we could send it out in 40-foot containers, 20 tonnes at a time or we could charter a vessel, and we rather like chartering the vessel. We hope to make it a common-place thing, you would see one in January and you would see one in July and we would move a lot of our cargo.”

Scotia Garden Seafoods supplied the stevedoring crew for the operation on the wharf.

The MV Green Bergen dwarfed all other vessels at the old government wharf on Yarmouth’s waterfront. According to information about the vessel, its design grants it flexibility for shipment of chilled/frozen cargo of both palletized and loose cargo configuration. It also has a 194.620 cubic foot tonnage capacity, with four separate cooling sections. The ship’s crane and hatch design allow for fast cargo operations.

The wharf had to be closed to the public while the ship was in port as a result of a security certificate issued by Transport Canada under the provisions of the International Ships and Ports Security Code and Transport Canada’s Marine Security Regulations. The provisions and regulations restrict access to the port prior to the arrival and during the stay of vessels like the Green Bergen.

The Port of Yarmouth closed the wharf to public access for three days, including the night of the Seafest fireworks display.