How Hazardous Is the Proposed Oil Tanker Route to Kitimat?

How Hazardous is the Proposed Oil Tanker Route to Kitimat? Written for Geography 391 – Contemporary Topics in Coastal Conservation Hayley Linton University of Victoria Department of Geography 2 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Global Context: Spatial and Environmental Constraints on Resource Extraction ......................... 3 Geography of Douglas Channel ...................................................................................................... 4 Spatial characteristics of the proposed tanker routes .................................................................. 4 Weather and Climate ................................................................................................................... 6 Surrounding Environment ........................................................................................................... 6 Oil Tanker Navigational Characteristics ......................................................................................... 7 Proposed Safety Regulations for Pipeline ....................................................................................... 7 The Human Error Factor ................................................................................................................. 8 Is the Proposed Tanker Route Acceptable? .................................................................................. 10 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 12 Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 13 List of Figures Figure 1 - Map of proposed oil tanker routes to Kitimat. Route in red is primary route ............... 4 Figure 2 - Diagram showing tanker classes and sizes ..................................................................... 7 Figure 3 - The side of the Cosco Busan where it hit the Bay Bridge support ................................ 9 3 Introduction Resource extraction and transportation is a worldwide issue. Oil tankers can be risky to navigate in coastal waters, especially in long, enclosed inlets and fjords like on the coast of British Columbia. The consequences of a tanker accident can be catastrophic to the environment, resulting in death of marine mammals, fish and birds as well as detrimentally affect human communities. Technological advancement and improvement in ship construction help to mitigate some disasters, yet accidents still occur. Currently, there is a moratorium on tanker traffic in BC‟s coastal waters, but an oil pipeline (Enbridge‟s Northern Gateway Project) has been proposed that would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands to Kitimat, so oil tankers could transport the oil to Asia. To reach the Port of Kitimat, tankers would be required to navigate their way up Douglas Channel, a fjord on the north coast of BC. This report looks at the global context of the issue (the spatial and environmental constraints on resource extraction and transportation) as well as specific issues relating to the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Important factors to consider include the spatial characteristics of the proposed tanker routes, regional climate, the environment surrounding the route, local and international regulations on shipping safety, navigational characteristics of oil tankers, safety measures proposed by Enbridge, and the human factor and its effect on navigational safety. These important factors will be analyzed in order to argue that the proposed route to Kitimat is too navigationally dangerous for oil tankers. Global Context: Spatial and Environmental Constraints on Resource Extraction Extracting resources can be a difficult feat. There are always factors that impede humans‟ ability to extract the resources needed for development. These factors can be both spatial and environmental. For example, forestry in British Columbia began with easily accessible forest land, such as the coastal old growth and the interior valley regions of the province. Forests that are more northern or higher up hillsides are not of high priority because they are more difficult to access and dangerous to harvest. The same theory can also apply to mining. In the 1800s, most deposits of gold or silver were found accidentally by people already in the area that were not actively looking for it (Cranstone, 2002). As the more accessible 4 deposits ran out, then it was necessary to look farther up mountainsides and in more remote places that were more difficult to reach (Cranstone, 2002). The issue of worldwide shipping is subject to both spatial and environmental constraints. Large ocean-going vessels carry vast amounts of fuel, which can spill out into the ocean if the ship should be involved in an accident. This fuel can have devastating effects on coastal areas and wildlife including fish, birds, marine mammals and all shore animals that rely on these species and marine resources. However, these vessels must often enter long, narrow channels to deliver and receive loads of consumer goods or oil to be shipped around the globe. Many areas of the world are subject to this particular dilemma; entering the channel puts the ship and environment at risk, but the local and global economy depends on worldwide shipment of goods. Coastal British Columbia is just one example; the coastal waterways of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are a few more examples of regions that also have to deal with spatial constraints on shipping of goods due to the presence of fjords. The geographic constraints of these channels put vessels in situations that are navigationally difficult due to the spatial constraints but will have devastating effects on the environment if an accident should occur. Geography of Douglas Channel Spatial characteristics of the proposed tanker routes Two tanker routes have been proposed, the primary route being an approach from the north of Haida Gwaii (Figure 1). When approaching Haida Gwaii from the west, the first area the tankers will pass through is Dixon Entrance, just north of Haida Gwaii. The tankers would be required to pass north or south of Learmonth Bank, which is a shallow area with a depth of less than 40m and can be prone to very strong tidal currents (Royal Society of Canada, 2004). Extreme Figure 1 - Map of proposed oil tanker routes to caution is required in passing through Dixon Entrance, Kitimat. Route in red is primary route. Retrieved from http://www.livingoceans.org/maps/ particularly in bad weather (Sherwood and Waldichuk, energy.aspx 5 1978). The tankers will then have to travel South through Hecate Strait. The majority of Hecate Strait is significantly shallower than Queen Charlotte Sound with bottom depths averaging less than 100m under the surface of the water (Royal Society of Canada, 2004). There are also many reefs and shoals within Hecate Strait that are quite shallow and must be readily avoided by large ships. Some of these reefs are only 3 – 4m under the surface of the water while some are quite a bit deeper, approximately 50m below the surface (Sherwood and Waldichuk, 1978). Douglas Channel is located on the North coast of British Columbia. It is a glacial fjord, like the other fjords on BC‟s coast. Glacial fjords are formed by the topographic steering of glacial ice which erodes the landscape as it travels over top (Kleman, 2008). It is the largest fjord on the British Columbia‟s coast. The fjord is situated between Hecate Strait and the town of Kitimat. Douglas Channel is 100 nautical miles long, or about 180km, with its widest point being approximately 5.5km and its narrowest point being just less than 1.8km (District of Kitimat, 2009). The channel has a maximum depth of 570m and a minimum depth of 190m (District of Kitimat, 2009). For the majority of the route up the Channel, it is fairly deep and clear of obstacles. There are several shoals on the route that must be avoided. Sherwood and Waldichuk (1978) highlighted a few of the primary navigational hazards along the route to Kitimat. Just to the north end of Banks Island there is an area of shoals; there are also shoals in Principe Channel and on the west side of McCauley Island. The primary obstacle is Nanakwa Shoal in Douglas Channel. It lies in the middle of the channel at the entrance to Kitimat Arm and is only 15m under the surface. Several other major hazards of the route are the sharp turns that must be completed to navigate around the outer islands (Sherwood and Waldichuk, 1978). If approaching from the south and navigating around the southern point of Haida Gwaii, there are significantly less navigational hazards. To the south of Haida Gwaii there are shallow shoals about 30m below the surface that would have to be avoided (Sherwood and Waldichuk, 1978). There are also some hazardous shoals in Caamano Sound, but there is a fairly wide channel of several kilometres between them (Sherwood and Waldichuk, 1978). 6 Weather and Climate The northern coast of British Columbia is notorious for poor weather and rapid deterioration in conditions. Beautiful, sunny, calm weather can quickly turn into foggy, windy and stormy seas that can easily take a ship‟s captain and crew by surprise. The Queen Charlotte Basin is subject to some of the most extreme wind and wave conditions in all of Canada (Royal Society of Canada, 2004). In the winter, storms

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