Lengthy delays last year to unload container ships at the Port of Vancouver has resulted in a drastically low grade on the latest global ranking of efficiently run harbours.

The World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence ranking of 348 ports shoves the Port of Vancouver to second-to-last spot — just ahead of Savannah, Georgia, and five lower than Prince Rupert, which ranks three-hundred-and-42nd.

The study uses vessel wait times as an indicator of overall efficiency — and an official with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says a surge in consumer demand flooded North American West Coast ports in 2021 and 2022 — although congestion has since eased.

The glut — which was made worse by a lack of storage space at distribution hubs — meant cargo ships in Vancouver waited an average of 10 days to load or unload in the first half of last year — more than double the wait recorded just one year earlier. 

(Canadian Press)