Port problems place Vancouver among the worst in the world

The Port of Vancouver has been ranked among the worst ports in the world, and anyone around the waterfront can likely guess why. Ship after ship can be seen just sitting at anchor day after day, and sometimes, longer than a month, waiting for the turn to dock and unload goods-filled containers.

Out of 370 ports, Vancouver ranked 368th in the World Bank Group Container Port Performance Index 2021. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port took first place, while the Port of Los Angeles took last.

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority VP Peter Xotta says many of the problems lie with factors outside their control. He, along with other stakeholders, are pointing the finger at China for a lot of the delivery woes.

“The challenges of ongoing COVID impacts in China are slowing production which causes vessel delays and originating ports. And our port functions best when vessels arrive on schedule, and that hasn’t been happening for two years,” Peter Xotta, VP with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.

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Xotta adds that while it may not seem like it, things have actually improved since December, when the delays were much worse as a result of the historic floods. In November, record-breaking rainfall led to mudslides and flooding which devastated southern B.C. highways, as well as impacted railway lines. Prior to that, B.C.’s 2021 wildfire season also put pressure on the trade gateway.

“We clearly have some work to do to restore confidence and restore the service levels that were historically known from for but we’re working on that every day,” Xotta said.

Vancouver’s reputation at risk

Robert Lewis-Manning with the Chamber of Shipping says he wasn’t surprised to hear about Vancouver’s dismal ranking last year because the port is limited in being able to react to major changes, including a surge in products coming from Asia.

“The Port of Vancouver, being the largest Canadian port, saw a surge approximately 18 per cent of imports in 2021,” Lewis-Manning said.

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“It wasn’t nice to see the Port of Vancouver rank so lowly, but at the same time I think the context is understood, and more importantly it’s an indicator of how in the future we need to be prepared for one: supply chain disruption, and two: surges in trade volumes,” he said.

He agrees that things are improving, but it will take some time.

Consumers left waiting

The Retail Council of Canada is also urging consumers to look at the bright side when it comes to an anticipated speed up of deliveries.  Greg Wilson says it’s important to remember that the impacts of the extreme weather events continue to slow things down.

“The roads are reopened, but they’re not fully up to the capacity that they were prior to the floods, nor are the rail lines. They’re getting better every day, but they’re not back to full capacity,” Wilson said.

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Wilson echoes the sentiments of the port — another one of the reasons Vancouver ranked so low, is because of China.

“So as the Chinese supply chain improves, so the rest of the world’s will improve,” Wilson said, adding “our port is not the only port with a backlog, the US West Coast ports also have backlogs. I think that’s significant to understand that we are part of an integrated North American market.”

Canada’s minister of transport has begun a task force to look into ongoing shipping delays, with an expected completion date set for September.

The future of trade

Industry groups are hopeful that the federal government will carve out a more resilient way forward, as well as push several major projects ahead including a container port expansion in Delta.

“We’re also working on a major project at Roberts Bank 2, out near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal… which will deliver 2.4 million additional TEUs of capacity and much needed capacity as our country and our gateway continues to grow,” Xotta said.

The Roberts Bank container terminal is still being considered. If approved, it would be built next to the existing Deltaport and Westshore Terminals and would provide an addition 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units of container capacity per year.(Courtesy: iaac-aeic.gc.ca)

The Retail Council agrees that the way forward is the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 to improve the overall system as well as improve all the infrastructure to ensure items that do arrive at port, get across the country easily and reliably.”

That project has been met with pushback since it was put forward more than a decade ago. Earlier this year, Delta City Council asked the federal government to reject it, or delay it further, due to claims it would affect migrating birds.

GCT Deltaport, Delta, British Columbia.

The Impact of Assessment Agency of Canada is currently reviewing comments and additional information on the project, including potential environmental impacts.

With files from Katarina Szulc