Eagle-eyed Craig Spence spotted something different at Kin Beach Tuesday morning. The huge, often noisy and irritating freighters that had been parked in the strait for months, were gone.
A former journalist, Spence notices things like that. And he takes pictures. And, yes, it was April 1, and the jokesters were at play around town, but Spence was not among them. The accompanying photos weren’t examples of Spence’s excellent Photoshop skills.
A spokesperson for the Vancouver Port Authority says six large have moved on.
“Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen the six anchorages near Ladysmith go from fully utilized to empty,” confirmed Alex Munro.
“Most recently there were six bulk vessels – not container vessels – using anchorages near Ladysmith, as they waited for the opportunity to berth at Port of Vancouver terminals.”
Munro says ships are sometimes anchored for inspections or maintenance.
“The number of ships at anchor was elevated in March, not the number of ships calling the port. This was because there were delays loading and ships needed to spend time at anchor at the port or Southern Gulf Islands waiting for their berth.”
He added the number of ships at anchor at the Port of Vancouver and Southern Gulf Islands was elevated throughout March, due to periods of deep freeze in the Prairies slowing rail cargo movements to Vancouver, combined with wet weather throughout the month impacting grain ships’ ability to load.”
And Munro says anchorages at ports around the world play an integral role supporting reliable, efficient and safe maritime supply chains, including at the Port of Vancouver.
“This includes enabling everyday trade by ensuring ships have access to safe holding grounds where they can wait for cargo loading, undergo inspections and complete maintenance,” he said.
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