Here we go again. For people living close to the water on Pender, Mayne and Saturna Islands, it’s a recurring nightmare. The sheltered area, known as Plumper Sound, is a picturesque and ecologically rich body of water in the Southwest Corner of British Columbia. Local residents were awakened before sunrise this morning, to the harsh sounds of metal grinding and …
A sight for tired eyes: Thetis residents surrounded by freighters in recent weeks
The rural Southern Gulf Islands used to be a place where residents and visitors could escape the city and have a peaceful nights rest. In the past few years, these islands which laid between open waters, have become a floating industrial parking lot creating several environmental concerns and disruption. A recount from a local Thetis resident, illustrates the concern for …
Record number of ships at anchor in SGI: How you can report your concerns
There has been a dramatic increase in large commercial freighters anchoring close to homes and environmentally sensitive areas in in the Southern Gulf Islands and South East Coast of Vancouver Island. The backlog of ships waiting to get into Port of Vancouver right now means there were recently 27 bulk cargo ships anchored in the Southern Gulf Islands, running huge …
Watch: Underwater treasures threatened by giant anchor chains
As part of our ongoing efforts to understand what kinds of marine life are being be affected by freighters parking in the Southern Gulf Islands, a group of local volunteers raised enough money for a dive team. They explored an area adjacent to Gabriola Island, where Transport Canada is considering five new anchorage sites. The resulting video showed an impressive …
Chamber of Shipping gives National Anchorage Initiative a failing grade
The leading voice for the shipping industry in Canada just panned Transport Canada’s plan to deal with freighter anchorages. The Chamber of Shipping issued a “report card” this week on Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) which was launched in 2016. The OPP is a broad collection of programs designed to assure Canadians that Canada has the expertise and resources to …
Powerful personal messages
So far, over 1,300 people have sent letters from our website to the federal government asking for and end to the use of the Southern Gulf Islands as a parking lot for freighters. Many have taken the time to add their own comments to the letter we have posted. We wanted share some of the stories, perspectives and opinions, and …
Salt Spring group joins South Coast Ship Watch Alliance
The South Coast Ship Watch Alliance is the collation of grassroots, volunteer organizations who are working against the harmful effects of freighter anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands. We are very pleased to be adding many strong Salt Spring voices to this campaign. ‘Protect The Islands Sea’ is a grassroots group of Salt Spring Islanders who have become increasingly concerned …
Watch “Save Our Southern Gulf Islands”
This very popular video explaining the freighter anchorage situation was produced by our Alliance members, the Ladysmith Anchorage Watch. It asks for your help to protect this very special part of Canada. Please watch the vidoe, and if it inspires you, we’ve made it very easy to send a letter to the federal goverment asking them to make change. We …
Vancouver Island NDP candidates say reconciliation and UNDRIP are keys to addressing Southern Gulf Islands freighter anchorages issue
Cowichan Malahat NDP incumbent candidate Allistair MacGregor and Nanaimo Ladysmith candidate Bob Chamberlin, held a round table discussion in Nanaimo on Monday to hear from community groups concerned about large coal and grain ships anchoring throughout the Southern Gulf Islands. The gathering included residents from Saltair, Cowichan Bay and Gabriola Island. Some of the concerns raised included the impacts of …
Watch a video that explains the whole anchorage issue
This video explains the whole anchorage problem in the Southern Gulf Islands in a simple way. We hope it inspires you to take action and send your letter today.
What you need to know about the freighter anchorage situation in the Southern Gulf Islands
There are 33 freighter anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands and Cowichan Bay and the federal government is currently considering adding more. The anchorages sites are free, long-term, overflow parking spaces for mostly, internationally owned grain and coal ships, waiting for berths in Port of Vancouver. Because they are outside of the federally regulated Port of Vancouver’s jurisdiction, they have …
Gulf Islands anchorages are being used for dirty U.S. thermal coal
Many of the cargo freighters anchoring in BC’s Southern Gulf Islands are waiting to pick up shipments of Canadian grain and metallurgical coal, both of which are important to our national economy. But there’s another group of ships contributing to the anchorage problem that generate almost nothing for the Canadian economy and what’s worse, serve to contradict Canada’s claims of …
