Port of Vancouver, Canada Launches Second Narrows Channel Dredging

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 25, the Port of Vancouver, Canada launched a dredging project in the Second Narrows channel, focusing on improving tanker navigation conditions at Trans Mountain's Westridge Marine Terminal. The construction area is located east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, covering approximately 17,000 square meters on both the north and south sides of the deep-water channel. The project plans to remove approximately 25,000 cubic meters of bottom material, with a local dredging target depth of 13.5 meters below chart datum. The project is scheduled to continue until February 2027.

The existing conditions of the Second Narrows channel limit the loading draft of tankers at Westridge Terminal, and tankers serving the terminal can typically only load to about 80% of tank capacity. After dredging is completed, vessels will be able to transit the relevant channel segments at higher loading levels, improving marine export conditions for Trans Mountain crude oil through the Port of Vancouver. The project will not expand the vessel types permitted at the terminal, and currently only Aframax-class and smaller tankers are still allowed to berth.

Construction will also involve removing two decommissioned Metro Vancouver drinking water pipes that cross the dredging area, and installing two new leading lights on the south shore of Burrard Inlet, west of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, to provide navigational reference for vessels transiting the Second Narrows. Marine construction is being undertaken by Fraser River Pile and Dredge, with round-the-clock intermittent construction possible depending on tidal windows.

Dredged material will be transported by barge to a transfer point, then trucked to approved upland disposal facilities; boulders recovered during construction will be used for marine habitat improvement. The project received environmental approval on June 23, with conditions including a prohibition on underwater construction from March 1 to August 15, environmental monitoring throughout the process, and water quality monitoring.

Westridge Marine Terminal is the marine export node of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline system and currently has 3 berths. After the Trans Mountain expansion, the pipeline system has a daily throughput capacity of approximately 890,000 barrels, allowing crude oil to enter international markets through Westridge. The Second Narrows dredging primarily addresses draft constraints on the marine end and connects with the pipeline's own throughput capacity expansion.

The project currently also faces judicial review. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada on July 8, challenging the port authority's permit and authorizations under the Fisheries Act. Construction is currently still proceeding according to the established plan.