A coal carrier that was docking at Westshore Terminals in Delta has rammed a trestle, forcing the terminal to shut down one of its main berths.

Nick Desmarais of Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. says Friday's crash left a hole in the trestle that is used to funnel coal to the carriers.

He says the large bulk coal carrier wasn't badly damaged in the crash and remains afloat.

More Pictures: Coal carrier crashes into trestle

Desmarais says it's not yet known why the crash happened.



He says a pilot and a captain should have been at the helm as the ship came into port.



Power was knocked out to the terminal's Berth 1 because of the crash and Berth 2 will be used for shipments until it's operating again.



Teck said it would continue to ship through Berth 2 at Westshore, but would be shifting shipping capacity to Neptune Terminals and exploring options for moving additional tonnage to Pacific Coast Terminals and Ridley Terminals.



"Our preliminary assessment is that we will meet or exceed our sales guidance of 6.2 million tonnes for the fourth quarter and, as there is inventory space available at Westshore, we do not expect this incident to have a material impact on coal production for the fourth quarter," the company said.