Trade flows at Canada’s biggest port could return to normal in the “coming days and probably weeks” after flooding temporarily closed rail tracks and roads, Port of Vancouver CEO Robin Silvester told Bloomberg on Dec. 1. “We already have trains moving on one of two lines to the port, and both railways are moving across that line, and a lot of work is going on to restoring service in the other line.”
Reduced cargo movement at the port is having ripple effects across Canada as C$700 million (US$548 million) worth of daily cargo normally moves through the port. As previously reported, potash exporter Canpotex Ltd. was looking to route product through Oregon and New Brunswick (GM Nov. 19, p. 1).
“We are seeing ships backing up at anchor waiting to get cargo to the port,” said Silvester. “We’re seeing delays in the container supply chain, but there’s a lot of work going on throughout the system, and we’re starting to see cargo resumption.”
A 40-acre site is being prepared for temporary handling and storage of empty containers to provide additional container storage capacity to ease supply chain constraints and bottlenecks.
Heavy rains last month cut Vancouver off from the rest of British Columbia and idled both major rail lines (GM Nov. 26, p. 1; Nov. 19, p. 1).
A new wave of heavy rain slowed things down earlier this week, so much so that the province announced it was extending its state of emergency and gas rationing through mid-December.
As of Monday, Nov. 29, the two main railways that transport cargo to and from Vancouver again temporarily closed their tracks due to rainfall concerns. CP Rail’s mainline between Kamloops and Vancouver closed for inspections and repairs to stabilize sites impacted by rainfall, while CN Rail stopped operations to also enable inspections.
“After moving seven trains during the weekend, CN took the decision to proactively close its network as the large amounts of precipitation into British Columbia were causing increased debris, washout, and landslide activity,” said CN. The company has diverted some rail traffic north to Port of Prince Rupert.