Sandor Gyarmati, The Delta Optimist
DELTA -- It will be months before North America’s largest coal exporting facility is fully up and running again.
Last Friday, a bulk carrier docking at Westshore Terminals coal port at Roberts Bank crashed into a causeway, destroying about 100 metres of the structure, including a coal conveyer system.
The ship severed the only link with one of the terminal's two loading berths, knocking out half the capacity of the coal port. An undetermined amount of coal spilled into the water, but no injuries were reported.
Denis Horgan, general manager of Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership, said an assessment this week will determine how long it will take to repair the structure and restore operations. Horgan, who’s been with Westshore for 24 years, said the cleanup and repair is something “that will take months, not weeks.”
The berth that was affected can handle vessels up to 260,000 deadweight tonnes using a shiploader capable of loading at a rate of 7,000 tonnes per hour.
