Shipping crude oil on the Canadian West Coast required balanced and sustainable oil tanker traffic policies. Such policies are critically important for Alberta’s oil sands exports. Given the heightened political tensions and public concerns the key issue is whether growth in tanker traffic requires any changes to the present regulatory framework for marine transportation. Two experts Darryl Anderson and Joe Spears identified the existing international and domestic shipping policies that address safety and environmental risks at the Canadian Heavy Oil Association 2012 Fall Business Conference in Calgary on October 26th. The presentation concluded by proposing solutions that foster increased marine transport sustainability.

 

Shipping Crude Oil on the Canadian West Coast Research

Anderson and Spears’ 20012 research papers Regulating Oil Tankers in Canadian Waters and The Maritime Transport of Canadian Cruse – Improving Sustainability in the Age of Occupy Wall Street have appeared in Vol. 4, No. 1, 2012 of the Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs and the 47 Annual Conference Proceedings of the Canadian Transportation Research Forum. The feature article Shipping Oil Off the West Coast: What Policies Exist, or are Needed to Support IT  appeared in the June 2012 Journal of the Canadian Heavy Oil Association and West Coast Oil Tankers – the gather storm intensifies appeared in the July 4, 2012 issue of Canadian Sailings.