Transportation Disruption Continues in British Columbia

December 3, 2021

The Port of Vancouver is still suffering from congestion and operational disruptions since severe weather and flooding crippled rail and road access to the area two weeks ago. British Columbia continues to experience heavy rainfall, and a state of emergency has been extended until December 14, 2021.

The recent events have had a significant impact on transportation in and out of Vancouver. Detours, closures, and essential travel-only restrictions remain in place as reconstruction and repair work occurs throughout the region.

Here is a listing of the current situation at the roads, railways, and ports according to an update provided by Hapag-Lloyd:

Roads:

Highway 1: Closed.
Highway 99: Closed.
Highway 3: Open for essential travel only.
Highway 7: Open for essential travel only.
Highway 5: Closed (long term).

Rail:

CN mainline washout over the weekend. Line clear date: TBA.
A CP rail link to/from Vancouver remains open since November 23.
Service expectations: In recovery. Train fluidity to improve over the next number of weeks.

CP Rail:

LACHINE (Montreal): No exports accepted to Port of Vancouver.
VAUGHAN (Toronto) (in effect until 12/02 23:59): Dry exports accepted to Port of Montreal and GCT Vancouver (no reefers).
All other CP Ramps: Dry exports accepted (no reefers).

CN Rail:

US Ramps: Accepting dry export traffic (no reefers).
Canadian Ramps: Limited capacity accepted for export loads (no reefers).

Port of Vancouver:

Vessel delays, increased yard congestion and heightened anchorage demand continues.
Full recovery expected to take a number of weeks.
THEA Vessels at anchor, or, drifting (berth availability is TBA):
- PN2; Navios Unison V08, ONE Arcadia V58
- PN3; Seaspan Beacon V02, Seaspan Yangtze V18
- PN4; Czech V104, Hyundai Brave V97
THEA vessels at Berth:
- PN3; Hyundai Singapore V124 (working, ETD: 12/01 pm).

GCT Delta Port: