New research maps health and environment risks from LNG tanker routes through Vancouver and Squamish region
More than 800,000 people reside within 10km of proposed LNG tanker routes
October 15, 2025 | Vancouver, B.C. | A new data-visualization analysis finds that 85 percent of LNG tanker routes associated with the planned 60-fold increase in LNG expansion in Southern British Columbia will pass through critical habitat for species at risk in Canadian and U.S. waterways. More than 800,000 people live within 10 kilometers and 2.8 million people within 25 kilometres of these routes, including in Burnaby, Coquitlam, Richmond, Saanich, Squamish, Surrey and Vancouver, and will be exposed to health and safety risks, according to Mapping Threats from LNG Tankers in Southern British Columbia, published today by Maritime Beyond Methane, a new global initiative accelerating the shipping industry’s transition beyond methane-based fuels.
“These findings show how closely LNG tanker routes overlap with people’s lives, ecosystems, and local economies and reveal the threats they bring—many of which have been missed in government assessments,” says Curtis Martin, author of the report.
Martin continued; “There are going to be more than 200 tanker transits a year, with these very large vessels required to navigate through extremely narrow waterways, including Howe Sound and the Fraser River. Using data visualization methods, we can better inform decision-making that safeguards people's health and livelihoods, and biodiversity across southern British Columbia.”
The tanker routes required for Woodfibre LNG and Tilbury LNG are adjacent to over a million hectares of regional protected areas and have potential to hinder recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species, including Southern resident killer whales and humpback whales, Chinook salmon, and leatherback sea turtles.
LNG tankers are 300-metre longships, equivalent to twice the height of Harbour Centre in Vancouver. They can carry 180,000 cubic metres of LNG, equivalent to the water contained in 72 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Southern BC’s two LNG export projects – the $12.3-billion Woodfibre LNG project under construction on the shores of Átl'ka7tsem/Howe Sound, a UNESCO biosphere reserve; and FortisBC’s planned expansion of Tilbury LNG – are poised to increase the region’s LNG production capacity from 100,000 tonnes focussed on domestic use to nearly six million tonnes a year in the 2030s. There are three additional major LNG export projects along B.C.’s North Coast: Ksi Lisims LNG, LNG Canada, and Cedar LNG.
A better understanding is needed of lifecycle emissions, ecosystem impacts and the risk to human health from LNG tankers. This is critical now that the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is responsible for regulating international shipping, is making decisions around how life-cycle emissions of marine fuels will be assessed for the next decade. Examining the land-to-sea connectivity supports present-day decision making that is comprehensive and goes beyond silos, enabling tomorrow’s energy and marine fuel pathways.
Beatrice Frank, Georgia Strait Alliance’s executive director, says; “Planned LNG expansion will bring a surge in vessel traffic, increasing noise, pollution, and industrial dumping that further degrade coastal waters and imperil Southern Resident killer whales, salmon and herring— species central to coastal livelihoods, the blue economy and cultural identities. The LNG pathway undermines Canada’s climate and biodiversity goals, locks in methane risks, and passes the costs of inaction to future generations.”
The planned expansion of LNG liquefaction for export in southern BC over the next 10 years is coinciding with a decline in global LNG demand. This puts LNG infrastructure at risk of becoming stranded assets — meaning misplaced government funding and a large write-off for LNG carrier owners (estimated to be USD 50 billion by 2035, according to risk models developed by the UCL Energy Institute and Kuehne Climate Center).
Building on these findings, Maritime Beyond Methane will continue to advance data-driven policy and finance analyses to support the shipping industry’s transition pathways, with contributions that:
Strengthen environmental assessment processes by engaging with federal and provincial regulators regarding comprehensive life-cycle approaches for methane emissions.
Advance an intersectional and precautionary approach by working with health, biodiversity, and climate experts to support policy solutions that deliver co-benefits for people and ecosystems.
Align LNG and shipping policy with national and international objectives by providing analysis on infrastructure expansion and tanker activity in relation to Canada’s municipal, provincial, and federal goals on health, economic development, environmental protection, and climate action.
Inform regulatory measures by evaluating potential restrictions on LNG tanker routes—drawing lessons from policies such as the BC Oil Tanker Moratorium Act and proposed Gulf of California LNG tanker moratorium—to safeguard communities, ecosystems, and the global climate.
