The Port of Montreal, the leading transatlantic maritime gateway in North America, is expecting to set a record in total tonnage in 2006, said its president. Dominic Taddeo said growth in containerized traffic and petroleum products should help the port handle as much as 25 million tones in 2006, which would be a record for the port. He also said the just-completed takeover of CP Ships, the port's largest customer, by TUI AG of Germany, should be positive for the inland port. The total cargo handled by the Port of Montreal last year included 11.1 million tones of container traffic, a fourth consecutive record for that category. Taddeo was at a ceremony honouring the captain of the first ship to reach the port in the New Year, the CP Ships container vessel CP Bravery, after a 10-day trip from Lisbon, Portugal. The tradition dates back to the 1840s and was formerly a spring ritual. It became a New Year's event when the port opened to year-round navigation in 1964 with the help of icebreakers. Taddeo said he is positive about the impact on the port of the acquisition of CP Ships by TUI for $2.03 billion US, to combine with its Hapag-Lloyd container shipping business. CP Ships and its Montreal terminals dominate the container business in Montreal.

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