Repairs to damaged coal terminal going well
When a bulk carrier crashed into Berth 1 at Westshore Terminals at Port Metro Vancouver, the damage was so extensive, Westshore couldn’t even guess at how long it would take to rebuild the facility. Now the company has a timeline.
The Cape Apricot, a 289-metre long vessel, wiped out a supporting trestle, which in turn collapsed a significant portion of the coal conveyor system—dumping tonnes of coal into the harbour—and destroyed the roadway that linked the shore to the terminal.
According to Westhore, most of the clean-up work has been completed and construction of the new trestle is now underway. The company expects this portion of the repairs to be completed some time in mid-February. Once that happens, the terminal can resume operations.
Barring any unforeseen weather delays or other problems, the construction of a new road is expected to conclude by the end of April. Westport says this is slightly ahead of schedule.
At this point, the company is unable to fully calculate the total cost of the incident, but Westport has taken actions to “pursue recovery from the ship owner and/or its insurance carriers for its losses.”
Additionally, the company has “property and business interruption insurance which, net of any deductibles that apply, is expected to cover the remaining costs to repair the damaged trestle and related equipment and most of the lost profits."
Westport says “there have been no environmental issues arising from any of the clean-up or repair efforts.”
Berth 2 was undamaged in the accident and has continued to operate throughout the clean-up and repairs.
Source: MM&D
