What is a marine oil tanker?
An oil tanker is a ship with at least 150 gross tonnage of cargo space that belongs to a prescribed class of the Environmental Response Regulations, and is constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil in bulk. This includes ships that are combination carriers, or a noxious liquid substances (NLS) tanker, or a gas carrier that is carrying cargo or a partial cargo of oil in bulk. See the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations for more information. Tankers are inspected and certified every year under international and domestic standards and regulations.
Marine spills
If you are involved in an oil spill, you must contact the Canadian Coast Guard at your nearest Marine Communications and Traffic Service Centre. You can contact a nearby centre using your marine radio (VHF channel 16) or phone.
If you see an oil spill, report a spill.
Marine shipping in Canada and around the world
Marine shipping is a global activity. Maritime nations, including Canada, have agreed on several international conventions and standards that set out common rules and practices related to safety, security, and protection of the world's oceans and seafarers. Canada puts into practice the international conventions set up by the International Maritime Organization. These conventions provide the framework for saving lives, promoting safety in marine transportation, and protecting the marine environment from damage due to navigation and shipping activities—regardless of where the vessel is travelling.
Over the last decade, the number of shipping accidents worldwide have dropped significantly, thanks to the establishment of national and international regulations, improved ship design codes, and enhanced global emergency preparedness and response systems.
Canada and the international shipping community pursue new maritime innovations and adapt regulatory frameworks continually to protect the oceans for future generations.
Facts about marine oil tankers in Canadian waters
Arctic Ocean
- Tankers travel the Arctic mostly to resupply communities and service natural resource projects.
- Eleven regulated vessels ship oil products within the Arctic. Most of these are Canadian-registered vessels.
- Vessels must follow specific rules for Arctic shipping that are designed to ensure safe operations in northern weather conditions.
Atlantic Ocean
- There are approximately 4,000 inbound tanker trips each year - about one fifth of the 20,000 inbound vessel trips on the East Coast.
- Over 82 million tonnes of petroleum and fuel products are moved in and out of 23 Atlantic Canada ports. Almost all the movement of crude oil and petroleum products in Atlantic Canada are performed through the following ports:
- Come by Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador;
- Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia; and
- Saint John, New Brunswick.
Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes
- Over 4.1 million tonnes of oil products are moved from 29 marine facilities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Out of the 4.1 million tonnes:
- over 1.8 million tonnes are shipped between Canada and the United States; and
- over 2.3 million tonnes are imported/exported in and out of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system.
- Tankers carrying oil products account for seven percent of all shipments completed in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway.
Pacific Ocean
- Oil tankers have been moving along Canada's West Coast since the 1930s.
- Oil is moved mostly through the following British Columbia ports:
- Vancouver;
- Prince Rupert; and
- Kitimat.
- Much of the oil shipped out of Vancouver is transported to and from communities on the British Columbia coast. Oil is carried by barges, container ships, ferries, and other types of commercial and private vessels.
- Marine oil tankers are restricted from stopping, loading, or unloading large quantities of crude or persistent oil products in remote and dangerous northern British Columbia waters through the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act. This Act protects our treasured North Coast rainforests.
Oil spills from marine oil tankers in Canada
There hasn't been a major spill in Canadian waters in the past 40 years. Globally, major oil spills (those over 700 tonnes) have decreased steadily over the last 40 years. In the 1970s, there was approximately a major spill every two weeks. Since 2017, there has been an average of 1.7 spills from marine oil tankers per year. This significant decrease has occurred despite the fact that the movements of oil by vessels have increased, vessels are getting larger, and are able to carry more oil onboard.
Canada's Oceans Protection Plan continues to strengthen how Canada prevents marine incidents from happening in the first place. Working together with Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, coastal communities, and provinces and territories, the Government of Canada ensuring our domestic level of marine safety exceeds international standards and the expectations of Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
What happens when oil spills in Canadian waters?
Major marine oil tanker spill incidents in Canadian waters from 1970 to present:
- 1970: The grounding of the SS Arrow caused an estimated 10,000 tonnes of bunker fuel to spill near Nova Scotia.
- 1973: The Sun Diamond bulk carrier and the Erawan tanker collided in Vancouver harbour, spilling an estimated 272,417 litres of oil.
- 1974: The Golden Robin spilled an estimated 400 tonnes of bunker fuel off the coast of Baie-des-Chaleurs, Quebec
- 1979: the MV Kurdistan broke in two after encountering an ice field and spilled an estimated 8,000 tonnes of bunker fuel in the Cabot straight near Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
- 1988: A tugboat collided with the Nestucca fuel barge off the coast of Washington State near British Columbia, spilling approximately 874,430 litres of oil.
- 1988: The Odyssey exploded and sank off Nova Scotia and spilled an estimated 132,157 tonnes of oil.
Major international oil spill incidents involving marine oil tankers include:
- 1989: the Exxon Valdez spilled an estimated 41,000 tonnes of crude oil near Alaska, USA.
- 1999: the MV Erika spilled an estimated 20,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil near France.
- 2002: the MV Prestige spilled an estimated 63,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil near Spain.
For more information, please refer to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (ITOPF)'s list of Major Oil Spills in History.