Yacht builder awaits port divestiture

November 18, 2009

Landlocked Kanter Marine would like to move back to Port Stanley, but it needs upgrades stalled by talks between the federal and municipal governments

ST. THOMAS - The cheque from the feds was nice, he says, but to ensure the future of his yacht-building company, Manfred Kanter Jr. really wants a new home on the water.

Ideally that would be in nearby Port Stanley on Lake Erie, but the manager of Kanter Marine may be forced to look elsewhere -- even to another Great Lake.
"It's something we need to consider," conceded Kanter, referring to a new location, after accepting a $360,000 cheque last week from MP Joe Preston.
The money was for two eight-metre launches for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Kanter said finding a new home for the business is becoming a pressing concern.

Located in an industrial park in the northeast corner of St. Thomas, Kanter Marine once was located alongside the west pier in Port Stanley, 17 kilometres due south on the lake.

Kanter said the company, started in 1977, leased a former warehouse beside Olmstead Foods at the water's edge, but that soon became inadequate and the firm moved to St. Thomas about a dozen years ago.

But moving large yachts from St. Thomas to Port Stanley has created logistical headaches for Kanter.
"We are making an effort in Port Stanley and elsewhere," Kanter said of the company's hopes for relocation.
He would prefer Port Stanley and to retain his current workforce, but the future of his company is tied to finding a waterfront location, Kanter said.
Port Stanley harbour owner Transport Canada and Central Elgin, in which Port Stanley lies, are aware of his needs, he said.

Kanter said he considered federally owned land in the harbour and some private property but discovered many issues, primarily related to soil contamination.
Kanter Marine also needs sufficient dredging to allow passage of vessels requiring four metres of water depth.

The federal government has refused to remove a witch's brew of chemicals from the harbour's industrial past, including arsenic, toluene, selenium, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead and heavy metals. It has also allowed the harbour to fill with silt, preventing large boats from entering it.

Kanter said he's been watching port divestiture talks drag on between Transport Canada and Central Elgin for years.
"We are standing back and watching what is happening," he said, but he'd like to see an end to ownership uncertainty.
Ideally, he said, he would like to deal with a local municipality rather than a federal agency.

"I would like to see some property made available," said the owner of the firm that once employed more than 40 and wants to prepare for a return of its customer base in the United States.

The company specialized in large aluminum-hulled power and sailing yachts, nearly all of which went to the American market. The U.S. market is soft right now, so the company has been chasing Canadian government contracts.

Meanwhile, Transport Canada and Central Elgin have resumed divestiture talks, this time with a $100,000 harbour business plan and feasibility study that was recently completed for the municipality.

That plan calls for $30 million from the federal government, retention of environmental liability by the feds and revamping of the port area with a focus on recreational boating and commercial fishing with a dredge to four metres.

The vision for the future of the harbour, adopted by Central Elgin council Nov. 9, calls for construction of a $1.5-million Stork Club as a community centre and big band museum, and a reconnecting of the village to its waterfront.
chip.martin@sunmedia.ca