1927
Pier BC opens on the current site of Canada Place (left). The pier was built to accommodate trans-Pacific Empress ships.
1937
On its maiden voyage, the MV Elizabeth Bakke sets a speed record for making the trip from Sweden to Fraser River Port in just 22 days, including a 12-hour delay at the Panama Canal.
1940s
Vancouver experiences a shipbuilding boom during World War II, with Burrard Yarrows (right) building more than 100 ships for the war effort during this period. At the peak of the war, there were 30,000 workers in BC shipyards - many of them women.
1946
The New Westminster waterfront (left) is able to accommodate 16 deep-sea vessels with cargoes of metal, lumber, plywood, canned goods and other materials arriving by rail.