A 12-month pilot program to restrict arrival and departure times of cargo ships in the Southern Gulf Islands is now permanent.
According to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) from this month onward vessels anchoring in the Southern Gulf Islands must arrive between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm to help reduce noise.
They add that 50 ship operators adjusted their schedules to meet the new requirements.
“Now that it is permanent, the arrival and departure window will continue to mitigate noise disruptions from anchored ships while ensuring ship movements to and from anchorages in the area remain fluid,” reads a VFPA newsletter.
The program started in July of 2023 and the port authority says that noise complaints have dropped by 50% year over year.
The VFPA says that “cargo availability, mandatory inspections, ship clearance processes, maintenance and repairs, and weather-related constraints preventing some cargoes from being loaded when it rains” are all reasons for long term anchoring of ships.
