Another potential niche that Sydney might develop is that of project cargoes. Most Canadian-based project cargoes move out of either the St. Lawrence River or Seaway ports. Most shippers of project cargoes usually try to bring the vessel as close as possible to the point of loading or discharge because of the cost to move these cargoes either by rail or truck. To make Maritime ports such as Sydney competitive, the "via Sydney" alternative must be cheaper and more efficient.

On average, it will be $6.00 per tonne just to move the cargo between Truro and Sydney, as compared with Halifax, which itself has trouble competing for these cargoes. This cost differential would have to made up by lower cargo-handling charges than are offered at Halifax or elsewhere.

The SYSCO wharf could handle rail cars manufactured at Trenton, NS, as well as locomotives which are manufactured at GM’s London, Ontario plant, and which currently move on a regular basis with Jumbo Shipping from Pier 9 Richmond Terminals in Halifax.

Another possibility is the movement of military cargoes, which are regularly shipped through Halifax and Saint John, and onward to training bases in the West. There are two companies in Halifax that specialize in project cargoes; there are many more based in Ontario and Quebec.

If a local market could be developed or identified in Sydney, perhaps related to the delivery of pipe for an offshore drilling program in the Laurentian Channel and Sydney Bight, then perhaps an outbound cargo service could also be developed. Given its long history of handling steel products for the steel mill, Sydney would appear to have an advantage in the handling of all types of steel for the Maritime market, assuming cost competitive rail and trucking is available.

Two recent studies have suggested that there is potential to operate from Georgetown, PEI to Newfoundland or from Belledune, NB to Corner Brook. The Marine Atlantic service was at capacity in the summer, before the company took delivery of a new ferry in 2001. Should a new service from Sydney be started, it would be geared to truckers, and perhaps rail cargo developed in conjunction with Railtex and CN. CN is tied into a long-term contract with Oceanex, but Railtex have indicated in previous discussions that it might be able to develop their own cargoes, particularly to and from western Massachusetts, and points in the mid-west.

Operating from Sydney to Argentia would allow for quicker vessel turnarounds than Oceanex can accomplish with its Halifax service, a major consideration for truckers and the main reason they continue to use Marine Atlantic’s ferry service. There is the possibility that Marine Atlantic’s Argentia service could be privatized and operated on a year-round basis.

A ferry service operating from SYSCO would require an investment in some additional infrastructure, such as a roll-on, roll-off ramp or linkspan, as well as back up areas for marshalling trailers.

Another issue is the length of time large Panamax coal vessels can take to unload, which can be up to 10 days using the existing equipment, but when it is upgraded will be 5-6 days for a 50,000-60,000 tonne shipment. Tying up the berth for this amount of time is incompatible with attracting container, break bulk or other liner-type shipping services. It is also not conducive to handling supply vessels or developing the site as an offshore supply base. With proper scheduling, however, there would not likely be any problem using it to load or unload pipe for a pipe-coating operation.

The port corporation is considering the conversion of part of the storage shed on the wharf into a tourist reception facility, with stalls for crafters and local artists.

In terms of a port to emulate, Sydney and SYSCO should look at Norfolk, New Orleans and Rotterdam internationally, as well as Belledune, Sept Iles, and Quebec City. Kinder Morgan operates state-of-the-art terminals throughout North America. Locally (i.e. in Canada), Logistec, who have a six-month deal with NSPI have considerable expertise.

To handle container, break bulk or project cargoes, a 15-20 acre parcel of flat, preferably paved or ‘improved’ back up land would be required within close proximity to the wharf. Ideally, this back up land would be accessible by rail and highway. Many of these cargoes could also be handled elsewhere in Sydney Harbour such as Sydney Marine Terminal (requires rail) or the Sydport facility, which may require wharf improvements.