Sultran: Western Canada sulfur logistics
Sultran Ltd. is the Western Canada sulfur logistics operator that connects inland forming and rail to Pacific vessel loadout. It wholly owns Pacific Coast Terminals (PCT) in Port Moody and coordinates sulphur loading at Vancouver Wharves Berth 4 in North Vancouver. Sultran is not an upstream producer; it moves and loads formed sulphur that originates at oil sands upgraders, sour gas plants, and third-party formers.
PCT Berth 2 handles bulk sulphur (and potash). Public specs list about 11.9 m depth, LOA roughly 142-240 m, beam to 32.5 m, and a single-quadrant shiploader with peak rates around 2,500-3,500 wet metric tonnes per hour single source and 4,500-5,500 wmt/hr dual source (Sultran logistics materials). Vancouver Wharves Berth 4 offers dual-quadrant loading, about 12.8 m depth, LOA max near 230 m, with lower per-gang peak rates but large on-dock stockpile capability.
Inland, Sultran discloses a network of about nine forming sites and on the order of 1,500 dedicated railcars (public company materials). Cumulative sulphur transported is cited in the hundreds of millions of tonnes historically. Molten UN 2448 tank cars feed inland sites; formed prills and granules rail out on CN and CPKC to the Lower Mainland.
Macro throughput: Port of Vancouver sulphur exports were about 2.29 Mt (2021), 2.79 Mt (2022), 3.10 Mt (2023), 3.35 Mt (2024), and 3.51 Mt (2025) per VFPA fertilizer-category statistics. Sultran/PCT handle a large share of that loadport volume, though VFPA publishes port totals rather than operator splits.
For fixture screening, pair Sultran's berth sheets with Sulfur Wire's vessel guide and berths board. Those pages are static capability reference, not live AIS or stem lists. Charterers reconfirm depth, air draft, and operating rules with the terminal before fixing.
When Middle East Pacific supply tightens, Sultran's chain is the chokepoint between Alberta block inventory and Panamax/Supramax stems. Forming rate, rail cycle time, and berth availability set the ceiling, not Claus nameplate alone.
Related
- Sultran facility page
- Vancouver berth board
- PCT and Vancouver Wharves vessel guide
- FOB Vancouver hub
- Vancouver export volumes
- Canada Pacific route
NA Sulfur Outlook: weekly Pacific and Alberta desk brief. Free at [email protected].