Tanker bound for Asia after loading Canada's first cargoes of liquefied natural gas in B.C.

A tanker carrying Canada's first cargoes of liquefied natural gas across the Pacific to Asian markets has departed from LNG Canada's berth in Kitimat, B.C., online shipping trackers show.

The GasLog Glasgow was loaded with LNG produced in B.C., a spokesperson for the project said Monday. 

Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth said it's been a long journey — about a decade — to see the startup of a project he says will bring a long-term economic boost to the region. 

"LNG Canada put an extreme amount of effort and resources into making sure, even years before [their final investment decision], that the negative impacts on the community would be as small as possible," Germuth said in an interview. 

"And so we're very thankful for that. For a town of less than 9,000 people to have over 7,000 people rotating in and out of a project right in your community, they did an outstanding job of protecting the community during that."

British Columbia Coast Pilots said two of their members boarded the tanker near Triple Island on the remote northern B.C. coast and navigated the vessel on a 15-hour, nearly 300-kilometre journey to Kitimat.

"The arrival of the GasLog Glasgow at the LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat is a historic moment, and the B.C. Coast Pilots are proud to have supported this milestone," said Capt. Steve Kennedy in a written statement.

The pilots rotated shifts to ensure the one on duty was alert throughout the voyage. They were escorted by a tug purpose-built by HaiSea Marine, a company majority-owned by the Haisla Nation. 

"This successful operation reflects more than 10 years of preparation and collaboration with government, industry, and coastal First Nations to ensure vessel operations are safe and to help minimize impacts on the environment and coastal communities along the route," Kennedy said. 

LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell and Malaysia's Petronas, PetroChina, Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. and South Korea's KOGAS. Its first phase is expected to produce 14 million tonnes of gas a year, and a second phase under consideration would double output. 

It's been billed by the federal government as the biggest private-sector investment in Canadian history — $40 billion between the port operation, the northeast B.C. gas fields supplying it and the pipeline in between.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is gas that has been chilled at temperatures of –162 C into a liquid state, enabling it to be transported overseas in specialized tankers. 

Gas produced in Western Canada could sell for a much higher price in Asia than if it were to remain landlocked, and advocates say securing new buyers would reduce Canada's reliance on the United States. 

Until now, Canada's only export market for its gas has been the United States, via pipeline. The trade relationship between the two countries has been rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump's evolving tariffs and musings about annexing Canada.