The State of Crude Oil Tanker Traffic in Canada

How much of Canada’s oil truly travels by sea? This article dives into the current state of crude oil tanker traffic along Canada’s coasts, exploring recent shifts in where and how many tankers are transiting our waters. The scale of this transport and its nuances might challenge common assumptions.

Crude oil is a broad term for an unrefined petroleum product, which includes conventional crude oil and diluted bitumen (dilbit), a type from the Alberta oil sands that’s thinned for transport. Every year, hundreds of oil tankers, vessels designed to carry large quantities of crude oil, navigate Canadian waters. This constant movement fuels public anxiety over the risk of a cargo spill. While current regulations and safety standards make such an event unlikely, a spill would have devastating and lasting environmental and economic impacts.

Pipelines vs. Tankers: A Look at Canada’s Crude Oil Trade

Canada’s oil trade relies far more on pipelines than on tankers. While tankers are crucial for supplying refineries with the crude oil needed to produce fuels like gasoline and diesel, they account for only 14% of the nation’s total crude oil trade. In 2024, Canada exported over 1.55 billion barrels of crude oil, with just 8% (130 million barrels) shipped by tanker. Conversely, tankers were essential for imports, delivering 60% of the 175 million barrels of crude oil the country imported.

Pipelines and rail primarily move Canadian oil exports to U.S. refineries. Tankers, however, play a vital role in diversifying our export market to other international destinations. For imports, tankers are the main method for bringing in crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast and other global sources, accounting for 57% of all crude oil imports by sea in 2024.

A Geographic Breakdown of Tanker Traffic

To understand the scale of crude oil transport, Clear Seas conducted an analysis to estimate the number of tanker movements at key Canadian coastal locations. The results, based on Statistics Canada trade data, news releases, and vessel tracking data (AIS), reveal four primary areas of concentration:

• West Coast (Vancouver, BC): Up to 400 tankers visit the Westridge Marine Terminal each year to export oil originating from Alberta via the recently expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline.
• Quebec (St. Lawrence Seaway, QC): An estimated 240 shuttle tanker transits annually move crude oil between a storage facility in Montreal and a refining facility in Lévis.
• Atlantic Canada (Saint John, NB): Around 115 tankers call annually to import crude oil from foreign markets for the Saint John refinery.
• Newfoundland and Labrador (Offshore): Approximately 90 international tankers visit the Whiffen Head transloading facility each year to export oil supplied by offshore shuttle tankers.

A Major Shift: From the Atlantic to the Pacific

The balance of crude oil tanker traffic in Canada has shifted dramatically. In 2020, an estimated 85% of tanker movements occurred on the Atlantic Coast, but that is no longer the case. Today, traffic is split much more evenly, with 57% on the East Coast and 43% on the West Coast.

Several key factors have contributed to this rapid change:

• The 2020 closure of the refinery in Come By Chance, NL.
• The repurposing of the Point Tupper, NS oil terminal for green energy production in 2022.
• Increased activity at Vancouver’s Westridge Marine Terminal following the 2024 expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
• Reduced international tanker traffic to Quebec refineries, which now receive more crude oil via pipeline to Montreal.

Significant shifts have defined crude oil tanker traffic in Canadian waters over the past decade. As global economic forces and Canada’s focus on diversifying trade partners continue to evolve, we can expect further changes in the years to come. While tankers currently represent only a small fraction of Canada’s overall crude oil trade, their role in ensuring that oil reaches international markets remains vital.