The impacts of a potential cruise ship terminal at Roberts Bank has to be examined together with the proposed Terminal 2 container terminal expansion.
That’s what Against Port Expansion’s (APE) Roger Emsley is demanding as the Port of Vancouver considers the possibility of adding another cruise ship facility in either Delta or Richmond.
In his submission to the federal government’s review panel for the proposed Terminal 2, Emsley noted the port’s contention a cruise ship terminal project should not be included in a cumulative effects assessment for T2, because not enough is yet known about plans for future cruise ships operations, needs to be challenged.
“This is similar to the tactic they used during the Deltaport Third Berth assessment, then claiming that there was insufficient information on T2 for it to be included. Later on it became apparent they likely had sufficient information but did not want it to impact a decision on the third berth,” Emsley said in his submission.
“This time around, now that T2 is being assessed, they use fuzzy logic to contend that the potential impact of a cruise ship terminal should not be part of a cumulative effects assessment.”
Port officials said a pre-feasibility study would look at the potential of adding a new cruise ship facility in these parts, but also stressed it’s very early in the process and that they may end up with a decision not to add the second terminal.
The port has also been saying cruise lines are building bigger ships which Canada Place won’t be able to accommodate.
Emsley said the port should be required to release the findings of that report.
According to the port, in 2017 Vancouver welcomed almost 843,000 cruise passengers on 236 vessel visits, reflecting a two per cent increase in passenger volumes over the previous year. The port also notes cruise is a critical economic driver for the region. Each cruise ship brings an average of $3 million to the local economy.
