Is there a federal moratorium preventing tankers from transiting BC’s coastal waters?
There is no federal ban on oil tankers entering BC ports. Oil tankers enter today at the Port of Vancouver and at Kitimat as well. Both the federal and provincial governments, and their respective departments, have confirmed that tankers are currently able to enter BC waters and BC ports. In fact, over the past 25 years, 1,500 tankers carrying petrochemicals safely entered Kitimat Harbour. And last year, the Port of Vancouver handled more than 180 tanker calls carrying oil, jet fuel and gasoline. There is a voluntary tanker exclusion zone that keeps tankers moving between Alaska and Washington State away from the BC coastline, but this would not apply to ships entering the Northern Gateway Terminal or other BC ports.
