Canadian grain, fertiliser, and oil exporters on Wednesday scrambled to divert shipments as heavy floods blocked access to the Port of Vancouver. Floods and mudslides hit British Columbia after two days of heavy rains and wrecked highways and two critical rail lines. The Trans Mountain oil pipeline and a portion of Enbridge’s gas line have also been shut as precautions. The floods have added another bottleneck in the global supply chain. Vancouver is one of Canada’s main ports, handling about $437 million) worth of cargo every day.
Many shippers moved their shipments to British Columbia’s port of Prince Rupert, to eastern Canada, or to the US northwest coast. However, Prince Rupert is already busy with exports and may have only limited space for additional volumes. Railway companies had so far not provided estimated timelines for repairs, prompting shippers to divert shipments as they tried to avoid penalties for late arrivals from buyers. The pipeline shutdown also means that oil shippers have to fill their storage or seek other conduits.
