WEST COAST EXPERIENCE

British Columbia has developed a world-class tanker handling system with an exemplary performance record. The first recorded tanker shipments on the West Coast were undertaken about 100 years ago and from the existing Kinder Morgan terminal about 60 years ago. “During that time, much of it without the benefit of today’s precision navigation technology, we have achieved an exceptional record of safety,” says Captain Stephen Brown, president of the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia.

Oil tankers have been moving safely and regularly along the West Coast since the 1930s, according to Transport Canada. prevention and control of marine pollution.

IMOmembership is comprised of 170 maritime nations represented by national governments. For Canada, membership is represented by senior officials from either Transport Canada or Environment Canada, depending onspecific issues under consideration.

Beyond international conventions that provide for the consistent and rigid application of standards, irrespective of where a ship may be owned or registered, individual ports may adopt additional measures to enhance safety within their jurisdiction.

“As an example, for vessels in transit to and from Kinder Morgan we already have a strict, well-defined protocol of escort tugs and times of clear passage. In conjunction with the regulatory agencies and the experience of our marine pilots, we will adopt the same processes for Northern Gateway should it proceed,” says Brown.

An additional layer of regulations related to tanker construction was introduced following lessons learned from the Exxon Valdez disaster almost a quarter of a century ago. “In 1990, the United States passed the Oil Pollution Act which requires tankers to be built with inner and outer hulls, a measure which would have resulted in no loss of oil from Exxon Valdez. This legislation has now been universally adopted by the IMO, making it impossible to trade single-hulled tankers on the international stage,” says Brown.