The Port of Vancouver relies on 33 anchorages outside its immediate jurisdiction to handle freighters awaiting their times for loading or unloading. Transport Canada has oversight of the anchorages and the Vancouver Port Authority continues to make improvements to monitoring and expediting freighter arrivals.
The Standing Committee on Transport, comprised of members from all parties, seems to have made a positive decision in limiting freighter stays at anchorages to two weeks. MP Alistair MacGregor is justifiably proud of the NDP amendment which has initiated this decision, although it should be modified to allow for extenuating circumstances such as stormy weather conditions.
Vancouver is North America’s second largest port and the largest on the West Coast. There are more than $615 million worth of export and import cargo each day which pass by the Port of Vancouver. This accounts for 1/3 of Canada’s trade in goods outside North America. For the Canadian economy, this involves $240 billion in trade annually. The Port of Vancouver supports 115,300 jobs.
Freighters are a major aspect of this trade. Providing anchorages for freighters is a response to delays in accessing the port terminals. Delays may be caused by weather, inspections, cargo availability through slowdowns of truck or rail transport, refuelling, cargo fumigation, mechanical problems and tidal windows.
Allowing two weeks for freighter wait times is a move in the right direction, recognizing that freighters must be able to navigate our waters to enable Canada’s trade, yet recognizing also the need to protect marine habitat.
This is clearly more reasonable than MP MacGregor’s proposed Bill C-305 which, if passed, would prevent anchorage of any freighter for any length of time within the Southern Strait of Georgia – an enormous area of approximately 1,394 square miles! Think what passage of that Bill might do to Canada’s trade!
Edward Field,
Maple Bay