The
Port of VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
was the name of the largest
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the largest in the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
, and the largest port on the West Coast of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
by metric tons of total cargo with 76.5 million metric tons. The port amalgamated with the Fraser River Port Authority and the North Fraser Port Authority in 2008 to form the
Port Metro VancouverPort Metro Vancouver is the new principal authority for shipping and port-related land and sea use in the Metro Vancouver region.-Prior to Merger:...
.
In terms of
containerContainerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard intermodal containers that are standardised by the International Organization for Standardization...
traffic measured in
twenty-foot equivalent unitThe twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes...
s (TEU), the port ranks as the largest port in Canada, the largest in the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
, the fourth largest port on the West Coast of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, and fifth largest in North America overall.
The Port of Vancouver trades $43 billion in goods with more than 90 trading economies annually.
Port of Vancouver (Defunct)
|
|
| General information |
| Founded |
Original shipment 1964 |
| Defunct |
January 1, 2008 |
CoordinatesA geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified in three coordinates, using mainly a spherical coordinate system....
- LatitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
- LongitudeLongitude , identified by the Greek letter lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement...
|
49°16'37" N
123°07'15" W |
AreaArea is a quantity expressing the two-dimensional size of a defined part of a surface, typically a region bounded by a closed curve. The term surface area refers to the total area of the exposed surface of a 3-dimensional solid, such as the sum of the areas of the exposed sides of a polyhedron...
- Coastline
- Land
- Water |
247 kilometreThe kilometre , symbol km is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second....
s
4.6 km²
60 km² |
Major marine terminalsA container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime container terminal...
|
25 |
| Vessel arrivals |
2,677 (FY 2005) |
| Annual container volume |
|
| Annual cargo tonnage |
76.5 million metric revenue tons (FY 2005) |
| Value of cargo handled |
$43 billion USD (CY Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day. By convention, a calendar year consists of a natural number of days. To reconcile the calendar year with an astronomical cycle , certain years...
2004) |
| Cruise A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year...
traffic |
0.910 million passengers (FY 2005) |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) |
$4.0 billion USD (FY 2004) |
| Jobs |
69,200 (total) (FY 2004) |
| VPA Board of Directors |
Chairman
Vice chairman |
George A. Adams
John T. Willcox |
| Other board members |
Greg S. Arason
Marilyn Baker
Kazuko Komatsu
Kenneth L. Matchett
Sarah A. Morgan-Silvester
R.V. (Bob) Wilds |
| President and CEO |
Captain Gordon Houston |
| Official Website |
The
Port of VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
was the name of the largest
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the largest in the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
, and the largest port on the West Coast of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
by metric tons of total cargo with 76.5 million metric tons. The port amalgamated with the Fraser River Port Authority and the North Fraser Port Authority in 2008 to form the
Port Metro VancouverPort Metro Vancouver is the new principal authority for shipping and port-related land and sea use in the Metro Vancouver region.-Prior to Merger:...
.
In terms of
containerContainerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard intermodal containers that are standardised by the International Organization for Standardization...
traffic measured in
twenty-foot equivalent unitThe twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes...
s (TEU), the port ranks as the largest port in Canada, the largest in the
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
, the fourth largest port on the West Coast of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, and fifth largest in North America overall.
The Port of Vancouver trades $43 billion in goods with more than 90 trading economies annually. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the corporation responsible for management of the port, which, in addition to the city of
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
, includes all of
Burrard InletBurrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
and
Roberts Bank SuperportRoberts Bank Superport, also referred to as Deltaport, is a port terminal facility located on the mainland coastline of the Strait of Georgia in Delta, British Columbia. TSI Terminal Systems Inc. operates the facility on the Strait of Georgia, as well as Vanterm on Burrard Inlet...
in
DeltaDelta is a district municipality in British Columbia, and forms part of Metro Vancouver. Located south of Richmond, it is bordered by the Fraser River to the north, the United States to the south and the city of Surrey to the east...
.
Terminals
The Port has 25 major marine
terminalA container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime container terminal...
s: three container, seventeen
bulk cargoBulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. These cargos are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
and five
break bulk cargoIn shipping, break bulk cargo or general cargo is a term that covers a great variety of goods that must be loaded individually, and not in intermodal containers nor in bulk as with oil or grain. Ships that carry this sort of cargo are often called general cargo ships...
.
The Centerm container and break bulk terminals are leased by
P&O PortsThe Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, was a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
, which was acquired by
Dubai Ports WorldDP World is a subsidiary of Dubai World, a holding company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.In March 2006, it purchased the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company of the United Kingdom, which was then the fourth largest ports operator in the world, for £3.9...
in 2005.
Economic impact
The Port generates 30,100 direct jobs through its activities. Employment is generated by five sectors related to the Port: maritime
cargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.- Marine Cargo Types :...
,
cruise industryA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year...
, capital investment in Port facilities,
shipbuildingShipbuilding is the construction of ships. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history....
and repair, and non-maritime enterprises. Maritime cargo is the largest of the sectors, generating more than 21,000 direct jobs. The cruise sector is the next largest, generating almost 5,600 direct jobs. Factoring in the multiplier effects (including indirect jobs), the Port has a total employment impact of 69,200 jobs across all five sectors. The jobs created by the Port are on average 52% higher than the average wage in British Columbia.
The Port contributed $1.8 billion dollars in direct GDP and $4.1 billion dollars in direct economic output to the Canadian economy in 2004. When multiplier effects are taken into account, these figures increase to $4.0 billion in GDP and $8.9 billion in economic output. The Port's economic impact extends into Western Canada and beyond, with most of the exports shipped through the Port produced outside of Greater Vancouver, and many of the imports intended for markets outside of the
Lower MainlandThe Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there....
.
The Port is the home port for the Vancouver-Alaska cruise, which occurs annually from May to September, with more than 1-million revenue passengers on about 300 sailings passing through the Port's two cruise terminals:
Canada PlaceCanada Place is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet waterfront of Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the home of the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, the Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver's World Trade Centre, and the world's first permanent IMAX 3D theatre. It is also the main cruise ship...
and Ballantyne. In 2006 the Port will host 28 ships at its two cruise terminals.
Statistics
In 2006 the Port handled 79.4 million tonnes, up 4% from 2005's 76.5 million tonnes. In 2005 the Port handled 1.7 million total containers, 910,172 cruise passengers, and 105,246 foreign vessels.
In 2005 the Port's top import and export partner nations were:
- China
China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
- 16,310
- Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- 15,574
- South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
- 7,145
- United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- 3,647
- Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
- 3,101
- Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
- 2,727
- Taiwan
Taiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
- 2,594
- Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- 1,742
- India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
- 1,719
- Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
- 1,638
Container terminal expansion
Studies indicate that container traffic on the
West CoastA country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast facing the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Guatemala* Geography of El Salvador...
of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
is expected to triple in the next 20 years. The Port of Vancouver has the opportunity to capture nearly by 2020. In order to meet future requirements, the VPA has examined options to increase the port's container terminal capacity. In August 2002, the VPA announced the beginning of the process. The VPA is looking at a three-pronged approach to increasing container capacity at the Port of Vancouver:
- Efficiencies at existing terminals
- Expansion at existing terminals
- Building new facilities
However, the Port of Prince Rupert is also looking to capture the expected increase in container traffic. While both Vancouver and Prince Rupert have direct rail lines to major US destinations such as
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, the location of Prince Rupert has the logistical advantage of being closer to major Asian ports.
History
With the opening of the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn...
in 1914, Vancouver’s seaport was able to compete with the major international ports for global trade because it was positioned as an alternative route to Europe. During the 1920s, the provincial government successfully fought to have freight rates that discriminated against goods transported by rail through the mountains eliminated, giving the young lawyer of the case, future Vancouver Mayor and Canadian senator,
Gerry McGeerGerald Grattan McGeer was a lawyer, populist politician, and monetary reform advocate in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
, a reputation as “the man who flattened the Rockies.” Consequently, prairie wheat came west through Vancouver rather than being shipped out through eastern ports. The federal government established the Harbour Commission (forerunner to the Port Authority) in the early 1920s to oversee port development. With its completion in 1923, Ballantyne Pier was the most technologically advanced port in the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
. The
CPRThe Canadian Pacific Railway , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City...
, lumber exporters, terminal operators, and other companies based on the waterfront banded together after the Great War to establish the Shipping Federation of British Columbia as an
employers’ associationAn employers' organization, employers' association or employers' federation is an association of employers. A trade union, which organizes employees is the opposite of an employers' organization...
to manage industrial relations on the increasingly busy waterfront. The Federation fought vociferously against unionization, defeating a series of strikes and breaking unions until the determined longshoremen established the current
ILWUThe International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout...
local after the Second World War. By the 1930s, commercial traffic through the port had become the largest sector in Vancouver’s economy.
Merger
On January 1, 2008, the Port of Vancouver officially amalgamated with two other local port authorities, the North Fraser Port Authority and the Fraser River Port Authority, into a new organization, called the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
External links