Tag Archives: BC’s tanker traffic

Rivers & Oceans

Lack of regulations leaves humpback at risk despite BC Ferries slowdown, experts say

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Researchers welcome a slowdown by BC Ferries through one of the region’s key humpback whale corridors, but warn it’s not enough without binding federal rules for foreign cruise lines and surging LNG tankers.

The company will reduce speeds starting June 1, after one of its ships struck and killed a humpback whale named Midnight in Wright Sound last year.

Continue reading Lack of regulations leaves humpback at risk despite BC Ferries slowdown, experts say →
Disaster

City of Burnaby prepares for possible Trans Mountain disasters

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The City of Burnaby is preparing for a series of unlikely but potentially disastrous accidents stemming from the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

An animated video, released Sept. 5, depicts three hypothetical, fiery scenarios that could arise at the Burnaby Mountain tank farm and Westridge Marine Terminal. The city plans to carry out a full emergency exercise in 2027 to prepare for these worst-case scenarios.

Continue reading City of Burnaby prepares for possible Trans Mountain disasters →
Animals, Energy, Rivers & Oceans

Feds urged to use emergency order to save endangered orcas

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Emergency protections for endangered southern resident killer whales are urgently needed because of increased oil tanker traffic from the expanded Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline, says a coalition of conservation groups.

Six environmental organizations are formally petitioning Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebouthillier, urging them to recommend that cabinet issue an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to save the remaining 74 whales, said Margot Venton, nature program director of Ecojustice, a legal charity working for the environmental groups. 

Continue reading Feds urged to use emergency order to save endangered orcas →
Energy

Port Moody joins calls for TMX to develop ‘credible plan’ in case of oil spill in Burrard Inlet

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The City of Port Moody is joining calls for Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) to develop a detailed plan in case of an oil spill at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.

TMX is consulting with stakeholders regarding the decommissioning of the old 60-year-old pier, which has been replaced with a three-berth expansion, which will allow a seven-fold minimum increase in tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet.

Continue reading Port Moody joins calls for TMX to develop ‘credible plan’ in case of oil spill in Burrard Inlet →
Environment

No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Last week, Capital Daily reported that the new 74.5-metre (244-foot) Western Marine Response Corporation (WMRC) vessel named the K.J. Gardner will be docked in Beecher Bay early in the new year. The ship is purpose-built to patrol the BC coastline and respond in the event of an oil spill.

This additional response resource is being deployed in anticipation of the 34+ tankers per month (450 per year) that will soon come out of Burnaby’s Westridge Marine Terminal laden with oil from the TMX pipeline before making their way through the San Juan Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Continue reading No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca →