Burrard Inlet dredging approved for larger oil tankers

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has received all federal permits for dredging Vancouver's Burrard Inlet, which will begin in September and allow larger oil tankers to load more fully from the Westridge Marine Terminal.

Aframax-class tankers measure up to 250 metres long with a draft of up to 16 metres, but currently load to about 80 per cent capacity to navigate the inlet. The dredging along the northern and southern edges of the navigation channel beneath the Second Narrows bridge will enable fuller loading without increasing vessel size or frequency.

The port authority says the work will remove about 25,000 cubic meters of material — less than one per cent of what it removes annually from the Fraser River. Dredging will occur to depths around 1.3 metres, with a maximum of six metres below the sea floor. The project includes removing decommissioned Metro Vancouver waterlines and installing navigation aids.

Work is subject to more than 50 conditions, including marine-life monitoring and kelp-habitat enhancement. All in-water dredging will occur between mid-August and the end of February to protect fish and fish habitat. The port authority says a low risk exists that contaminated sediment could be disturbed, and the contractor will monitor turbidity to pause work as needed. The environmental group Sierra Club has raised concerns that the project could undo years of ecological healing in the inlet by harming eelgrass, herring, salmon, seals, and whale populations.