Port of Vancouver operations update

November 19, 2021

To Port of Vancouver’s valued customers and stakeholders,

The Vancouver gateway continues to experience disrupted rail and truck movement due to widespread flooding throughout the Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is working with our supply chain partners including railways and terminals, and lead agencies at various levels of government.  As with everyone involved in the response to this situation, the current priorities are public safety and facilitating essential services.

The provincial state of emergency declared by the British Columbia Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General remains in place. The state of emergency effective November 17, 2021 applies to the entire province of B.C. for an initial 14-day period and may be extended or rescinded as conditions require. The state of emergency enables federal, provincial and local governments to allocate resources and deliver a coordinated response to protect the public.

Evacuation orders for multiple communities remain in place in the flood stricken areas.

Rail operations:  CN and CP crews and engineering teams continue to clear debris and undertake repairs to damaged infrastructure between Kamloops and Vancouver. Although significant progress has been made in restoring multiple rail sections, access to some impacted locations continues to be hampered by safety and logistical challenges. CP advised that barring any unforeseen issues, rail lines could be restored mid-week.  Rail operations will resume when it is safe to do so.

Truck operations:  Trucks are operating under normal conditions at all four container terminals.

Marine operations:  Anchorage demand is high and nearing capacity across all vessel types. Anchorages are assigned in a manner that ensures fluidity across all ship types and maintains essential services. Vessels in port can be viewed on the home page of the PortVan eHub app by selecting “Vessels in Port”.

Intermittent openings of one highway route are allowing some commercial vehicles to transit westbound from Hope towards Vancouver.  Reconstruction and repairs on all major roadways from the B.C. interior continue.

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed on any new developments as they arise.

Resources:

  • PortVan eHub app: access real-time insights into Port of Vancouver operations via the port authority’s mobile app eHub.  Download from the port authority’s website (eHub) or through the App Store (search for “PortVan eHub” or “Port of Vancouver”)
  • Port dashboard: view updates on import rail performance, truck terminal turn times, and gateway vessel on-time performance through the port authority’s website (Performance Metrics).
  • Port operations updates: Operations Updates
  • State of Emergency Declaration:  State of Emergency Declaration (issued November 17, 2021)

Pease feel free to forward this update within your organization.

Thank you for your continued support of the Port of Vancouver.