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Vancouver Port Authority to host public meetings in Cowichan on anchored freighters

VPA looking for input on proposed new management program
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The Vancouver Port Authority is hosting two open houses in the Cowichan Valley on its plans to deal with anchored freighters in the Salish Sea. (Citizen file photo)

People in the Cowichan Valley will have the opportunity to learn about, and provide input, into the Vancouver Port Authority’s draft plan to help deal with issues related to the controversial anchoring of freighters in the area.

The VPA will soon be holding two open houses in Duncan and Ladysmith on the VPA’s draft plan for its Active Vessel Traffic Management Program.

“Ship anchorages are an important issue for many people living on Vancouver Island and in the Southern Gulf Islands,” a press release from the VPA said.

“This month, local communities will have an important opportunity to help shape how commercial ship traffic and anchorages are managed. As the federal agency mandated with enabling trade through the Port of Vancouver, the port authority manages ship traffic within the Port of Vancouver and where these ships can anchor while waiting to access a port terminal.”

RELATED STORY: VPA SAYS IT WANTS TO DEAL WITH ANCHORAGE ISSUES

The release said trade through the Port of Vancouver and region is growing, and the VPA is designing the management program to better manage the movement of commercial ships visiting the port, and reduce impacts to local communities.

“One element of the program we have heard particular community interest in is an anchorage code of conduct for commercial ships around the Southern Gulf Islands,” the VPA said.

“The open houses will provide the opportunity to learn more about, and provide feedback on, a draft anchorage code of conduct, as well as our proposed approach to complaint resolution regarding anchorage usage. The drop-in style open houses will also be an opportunity to speak with experts from the port authority and other organizations involved in ship traffic and anchorage management”

RELATED STORY:CVRD INVITES VPA TO MEETING OVER PARKED FREIGHTERS

The first open house in the region will be held on Nov. 16, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Cowichan Station, 2375 Koksilah Rd., and the second will be held on Nov. 17 in Ladysmith, also from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Diamond Community Hall, 4962 Christie Rd.

There are 33 commercial vessel anchorages located throughout the southern Gulf Islands, including six in operation in Cowichan Bay and six near Ladysmith and Saltair harbours.

Repeated calls have been made by local governments, community groups and First Nations about protecting clam beds, prawns, oysters and endangered species from the environmental impact of the anchored shipping vessels.

As well as concerns about the impacts to the marine environment of parking these large ships in the area, there are also concerns about the noise and light pollution they create.

Alistair MacGregor, MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, reintroduced his legislation from the previous Parliament on Nov. 7 to amend the Canada Shipping Act to prohibit the anchoring of freighter vessels using coastal waters along the Southern Strait of Georgia.

The bill is widely supported among local stakeholders, including First Nations, local governments, and community activist groups, and is seconded by Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron.

RELATED STORY: NORTH COWICHAN JOINS FIGHT AGAINST FREIGHTER ANCHORAGES

MacGregor said the waters in the southern Strait of Georgia have been recognized as worth protecting by the federal government as a part of its process in establishing a National Marine Conservation Area.

He said his Private Member’s Bill C-305 aims to prohibit large freighters from anchoring in the waters to be designated as a future NMCA.

“Two years ago, I introduced Bill C-250 to address the issue of freighter anchorages in the Salish Sea,” MacGregor said.

“Regretfully, coastal residents, local First Nations, and conservation groups continue to plead with Transport Canada and the VPA to find solutions to this problem. The federal government has been dragging its heels on this issue, and Vancouver Island coastal communities deserve to have their voices heard in Ottawa.”

The Cowichan Bay Ship Watch Society has also taken issue with the VPA’s plans for the anchored vessels, and the fact that there was so little notice of the open houses.

RELATED STORY: MACGREGOR INTRODUCES BILL TO ADDRESS PROBLEM FREIGHTER ANCHORAGES

Society president Peter Holmes is also asking if there has been significant consultation with coastal communities on the proposed plan, and what is the VPA’s and federal government’s plan to deal with the community’s concern around the local marine habitat and the communities’ health and welfare?

“How will a code of conduct change the status quo of complaints from noise that can not be mitigated and how will it prevent toxic, unmonitored illegal industrial activities that cannot be monitored or enforced,” he asked.

“Potential disasters from anchor losses, dragging and ship collisions cannot be prevented in these waters. Where is the environmental research into the contamination coming from ship discharges and run off to sensitive marine areas?”

Holmes said there were some discussions on putting anchorages in less populated areas to reduce the stresses to communities, and he wants to know what became of those talks.

“Is the VPA expecting Islanders to be the reporters on ships not adhering to protocols?” he asked.

“These ships do not belong here. They negatively affect communities and are a very real risk to contaminating vital, rich, marine life in low-flush bays and estuaries with discharges and industrial activity.”



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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