Enbridge Inc., an energy delivery company based in Canada, wishes to
transport crude oil by ship from Edmonton, Alberta to a new marine terminal
at Kitimat, British Columbia. Named ‘The Northern Gateway’, the project is
expected to be in service in 2019. Kitimat is located at the bottom of the
Douglas Channel, one of the widest and deepest inland waterways on North
America’s West Coast. To help ensure that all safety, navigational and
environmental standards will be met during the ship voyage through the
protected nature reserve, a team of over 200 experts and scientists
conducted a comprehensive assessment of the route between the open sea
and Kitimat. Taking into account the unique characteristics of the nature
reserves and the indigenous population, a number of environmental and
safety issues had to be observed during the voyage. As part of a required
comprehensive environmental assessment, DHI was tasked to conduct an
evaluation of ship waves generated along the route in order to assess its
potential impact on the surrounding areas.