Report - Agence canadienne d'évaluation environnementale

Assessing the risks related to the project
of cargo. These involved the El Paso Kayser in 1979 and the LNG Taurus in 1980.
The Panel also noted that another grounding occurred more recently, in 2004, to the
south of Korea, and the cargo remained intact in this occurrence as well 1 .
History of accidents in the St. Lawrence Seaway
According to the impact study, the proponent examined the data of the inquiry reports
produced by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board from 1994 to 2002,
concerning accidents in the St. Lawrence Seaway, from Cabot Strait to Quebec City.
Based on 33 incidents which were deemed relevant to the analysis, the proponent
underscored the following:
– There were fourteen groundings out of a total of 33 incidents. No grounding
resulted in a shipwreck, but one of them was declared a total loss. This incident
was the worst grounding in the list.
– Three ships sank.
– Two leaks or cargo losses occurred, on a barge and a bulk carrier. These events
did not result in any pollution.
– Only one collision occurred between two ships - a tanker and its tugboat.
As for ship types, bulk carriers dominated incident statistics between Cabot Strait and
Québec City. Between 1994 and 2002, three ships were ice-bound, one of which was
grounded. This event was significant because ice is present during one-fourth of the year.
The analysis of the sites where the incidents took place confirmed that there are some
places in the seaway which are more at risk than others. For example, île Rouge and
the Traverse du Nord are two sites which present relatively higher risks, and the pilot
embarking station at Les Escoumins is also an area that was deemed to require special
attention. According to the spokesperson of the Corporation des pilotes du Bas-Saint-
Laurent, the last grounding which took place in the Traverse du Nord three to four
years ago occurred because of a rudder problem.
Lastly, between 1994 and 2002, approximately one third of all accidents occurred
inside the piloting area, and two thirds outside of it. However, it is important to note
that ferries and fishing boats are never accompanied by pilots from Bas-Saint-Laurent,
regardless of the area they navigate in (PR3.3.2, F-2, p. 28 to 30 and Appendix 4).
1. [On line: http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20070321152154-52629.pdf].
130 Rabaska Project – Implementation of an LNG Terminal and Related Infrastructure