The devastating fire affected the Port of Vancouver, rail services were interrupted, and shipping companies warned of delays and congestion
A wildfire in western Canada caused the interruption of the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) services. This impact is affecting the supply chain of the Port of Vancouver, causing additional delays and congestion during the unprecedented prosperity of container shipping.
Disruption of rail service leads to container backlog Although CP has resumed shipping services, CN is changing some traffic routes while assessing the damage caused by the fire that destroyed a village in British Columbia last week. In Vancouver, Canada's largest port, the impact of rail services provided by the railroad began to appear. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority stated in an operational update on Wednesday that “the current demand for large ship anchorages exceeds capacity.” The port has previously stated that it expects delays and is cooperating with terminal operators, railways and the government to develop Recovery plan. Shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk warned customers on Wednesday that delays and congestion are expected. "The whole volume pressure is very large, and it is expected that it may be delayed 72 to 96 hours from today." Hapag-Lloyd said in a consulting report. Maersk said that the impact of the port is expected to last for at least a week, noting: “We will see increased congestion at the terminal and ship delays are expected.
The devastating fire disrupted key parts of the CN and CP rail network serving Vancouver The interruption stemmed from a fire that broke out in Lytton, British Columbia last week. A wave of wildfires in western Canada killed two people and destroyed most of the community. The fire damaged the tracks of the two railroad companies and a bridge owned by the Canadian National Railways, causing the disruption of rail traffic in a critical part of the two companies' network located about 160 miles northeast of Vancouver. “The huge damage caused by wildfires to the Litton Village and nearby Litton Aboriginals is devastating,” CN said in a statement. CN said that as of Wednesday night, northbound and southbound intermodal and freight traffic from Vancouver and inbound traffic from eastern and northern Kamloops were still affected. During this period, the railway "is also working hard to bypass limited traffic where possible to clear the network."
Railroad disruption puts ports under pressure from a surge in containers CP resumed its maritime business servicing the port on Monday afternoon and warned customers that it is expected to be delayed by three to four days. "The safety of the public and our employees is our top priority, and we are taking appropriate measures, such as increasing inspections of tracks and equipment during extreme weather," CP said. For the Port of Vancouver, the rail disruption came at an untimely time because it is dealing with a surge in container traffic. According to port data, the 20-foot container handled in Vancouver in May increased by 39% from a year ago. Due to the fire, Hapag-Lloyd described the situation at the port terminal as "crowded and limited in capacity." The shipping company also informed customers that the outbound rail capacity of GCT Deltaport, Vancouver's larger container terminal, has been reduced.
