All 12 decks of the four-month old car carrier M.V. LIBERTY ACE, which arrived from Omaezaki, Japan, were filled with new Mazda, Toyota, Lexus, Mitsubishi and Suzuki automobiles destined for the Canadian marketplace. M.V. LIBERTY ACE, at 60,175 tons (Gross Registered Tonnage), is one of Mitsui OSK Line's new generation Pure Car Carriers, and was launched in November 2004.
The cars were unloaded over March 28'29, 2005. Many vehicles were almost immediately loaded aboard trains and trucks for shipment to various Canadian destinations. The remaining cars were stored on Fraser Wharves' 107 acre site, (including a 14-acre water portion) to be processed and shipped at a later date.
Fraser Wharves Ltd. is one of two auto terminals located within Fraser River Port. Established in 1971, Fraser Wharves Ltd. has earned a reputation in the automotive industry for its high quality service. Their automotive complex in Richmond, B.C., includes complete facilities for ship docking, warehousing, processing, distribution, customization and repairing of motor vehicles
The Fraser River Port Authority is responsible for Canada's second busiest port based on total cargo volume. Fraser River Port is Canada's largest fresh water port and covers 270 kilometres of shoreline along the Fraser River from Langley to its mouth in the Strait of Georgia. It is also Canada's largest mover of Asian import automobiles, importing 436,931 vehicles in 2004.
