No matter which side of the
debate you are on regarding the Enbridge oil pipeline and the
proposed oil tanker traffic in the waters off the west coast the
following series is a must read. Written by a Captain of a chemical
tanker who regularly plies the affected waters and indeed uses the
terminal at Kitimat, his three (thus far) articles '54
North and Plan to Nowhere Part 1, Part
2 and
Part 3 raise some issues that must be addressed and clarify
who is responsible for what when it comes to navigation in these
waters.
What follow is a very small
clip that outlines the scale of these tankers as compared with the
current traffic in the Straights.
“The federal government
actually cut the budget of the one department
responsible for upgrading the vessel traffic services in the critical
area. As has been pointed out previously, Enbridge which originally
stated that they would be installing new VTS radar and nav aids has
made it clear that they have no intention of bearing the cost and are
negotiating with the federal government.
None of this is aided by the
offerings of Enbridge. This
disingenuous bit of propaganda needs to be addressed.
At the link above, Enbridge
provides a picture of a chemical tanker arriving in Kitimat on 16
March 2012, and then goes on to provide numbers which demonstrate a
continuous flow of tankers between 1982 and 2009, and why don't all
you environmental activists just chew on all those wonderful facts.
Well, since I commanded a
chemical tanker into the port of Kitimat, I suppose I should
clear up some of the fog which the Enbridge spin-merchant has dumped.
Chemical tankers are
considerably smaller than the ships Enbridge is proposing to
bring to Kitimat. Most chemical tankers max out at about 40,000 DWT.
Enbridge is proposing the
following size ships:
AFRAMAX - 120,000 DWT
SUEZMAX - 200,000 DWT
VLCC - 315,000 DWT (eight
times the size of a large chemical tanker)
(snip)
Enbridge tries to downplay
the cargo by suggesting that the current shipping traffic is carrying
petroleum products, therefore they are not introducing
anything new. Except that they are.
Current and past product
into and out of Kitimat was mostly methanol and condensate. Petroleum
products they are, but they are actually highly evaporative liquid
by-products of natural gas. A spill would cause some immediate damage
to be sure, but it would evaporate in short order and there would be
little in the way of a persistent effect.
What Enbridge is proposing,
(and what they are attempting to favourably compare to a highly
evaporative liquid), is actually a liquefied, unrefined, thick crude
oil, much more akin to tar than it is to methanol. A spill of that
type of product would create lasting devastation for decades - if you
could ever get it cleaned up at all.”
Then there is this:-
Unlike the waters around
southern Vancouver Island and the south BC coast generally, none of
the sea areas, inlets, arms, passages or any other tidal waters area
( in or near the Hecate Strait) or port have coastal radar coverage
intended to monitor or aid marine traffic. In fact, there is not even
a traffic separation scheme intended to prevent the interaction of
ships in the restricted waters of the inside passage.
Go read these comprehensive
and detailed assessments regarding tanker traffic to Kitimat.
A Tip o the hat to The
Galloping Beaver for this one.
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