Familiar boom of 9 O’Clock Gun at Stanley Park temporarily silenced by supply chain shortage
Posted February 10, 2022 1:10 pm.
People living in the vicinity of Vancouver’s Stanley Park won’t hear the 9 O’Clock Gun for awhile. Supply issues have forced a pause on the nightly boom.
The Vancouver Park Board says there’s a shortage of black powder (BP), which the cannon requires to run. The firing schedule is on hold as of Friday, and until further notice.
“This shortage is not unique to Canada; BP is in short supply throughout North America and Europe due to supply chain challenges and an overall decrease in manufacturing. Since the Park Board’s long-time supplier closed last fall, staff were only able to secure enough powder to fire until today,” a statement from the park board reads.
The firing of the Nine O’Clock Gun in #StanleyPark will temporarily pause after today due to a shortage of the powder the cannon uses. Staff are continuing to explore other options. https://t.co/CQgLXy1faP pic.twitter.com/S1dVFhKFcT
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) February 10, 2022
The Park Board adds staff will try to find an alternative option to get back on schedule.
The last time the 9 O’Clock Gun was paused was in October when one of the structures used to prepare the cannon for firing was damaged by a falling tree. Interim repairs were made and the tradition resumed the following month.
The cannon has been in Stanley Park since 1894. At first, it was used to warn fishers of the 6 p.m. Sunday close of fishing. However, it started firing three hours later to help ships come to the port to set their clocks to local time.
