Date: Aug 23, 2024
Type

From: Harbour Master’s office 


The ongoing labour dispute involving CPCK, CN and railway workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has significantly disrupted port operations. 

As a result, the port authority is actively coordinating with Transport Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard,and the Pacific Pilotage Authority to increase situational awareness and enhance safety for ships boundfor the Port of Vancouver and Southern B.C. This includes monitoring pending vessel arrivals, berth and anchorage capacity; weather forecasts; vessels holding off the B.C. coast; and developing vessel traffic management contingency plans.

The port authority is committed to ensuring available anchorages are allocated transparently and we provide port users with visibility over current capacity, projected demand, and the pending vessel arrival list via our daily anchorage utilization report. You can access this daily report here.

At this time, we give vessels calling terminals that are not impacted by the ongoing labour dispute priority over anchorage assignments. All other anchorage assignments are made at the discretion of the port authority and with consideration to safety, continuity of port operations, and terminal/shipper priority. 

Working together to streamline ship arrivals in port or at anchor

To assist in these efforts, the port authority is requesting that port terminal operators confirm anticipated and estimated berthing dates for arriving vessels to ensure available anchorage capacity supports port capacity optimization.

We recognize that vessels may choose to proactively hold offshore, and we encourage supply chain partners to consider offshore areas (i.e. within 12 nautical miles of Buoy Juliet and the entrance to Juan De Fuca Strait) as an ‘arrived’ location for the purpose of the issuance of the Notice of Readiness. 

As more is needed to prevent further congestion and delays, the port authority is also asking ship operators calling the Port of Vancouver to take the necessary actions—such as slow steaming—to practice near-time arrival whenever possible.

Prioritizing near-time arrivals will help the port community to:

  • Reduce the demand for anchorages and maintain a certain level of port fluidity 
  • Reduce further port congestion and delays 
  • Minimize environmental and community impacts 
  • Support port recovery and resilience following the resolution of the labour action

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this situation and appreciate your understanding and cooperation. We hope the labour action will soon be resolved so normal operations can resume. 

If you have any questions or require clarifications, please contact our 24/7 Operations Centre by phone at 604-665- 9086 or email at [email protected].