Port says dredging of Vancouver's Burrard Inlet underway, a project touted by Carney

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says preliminary work on a plan to dredge Burrard Inlet to accommodate fully loaded oil tankers is now underway

It says the project, which was recently floated by Prime Minister Mark Carney, will proceed through permitting processes including consultation with First Nations.

A statement issued on Tuesday says the preliminary work that has commenced includes the consultation and field studies.

The project – which has been criticized by some environmentalists, experts and First Nations – would allow a common class of tankers to pass fully loaded under Vancouver's Second Narrows Bridge after filling up at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.

The statement says there's a "pressing need" to optimize the port in the face of an uncertain and fast-changing global landscape.

It says the project will improve shipping efficiency in the inlet.

Trans Mountain says on its website that Aframax-class tankers generally load to about 80 per cent of capacity to provide clearance in Port Metro Vancouver.

British Columbia's government has said it supports the project, so long as it meets environmental and consultation requirements.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck