Multiple Resources Working To Protect Haida Gwaii
Fuel-laden Russian ship is drifting 10km west of Moresby Island
Vancouver, B.C. – Federal, provincial and Naida Nation resources are being utilized to deal with a potentially destructive situation off the west coast of Haida Gwaii.
A 135-metre Russian cargo ship laden with 500 metric tonnes of bunker oil and 60 metric tonnes of diesel lost all power and has been drifting in high seas parallel to the coastline of Moresby Island for an undetermined period of time. The Haida Nation was first informed of the situation at about 7:30 Friday morning. The captain of the ship, the Simushir, suffered some sort of injury and was removed by helicopter. Ten crewmembers remain aboard the ship.
The Province of British Columbia has activated Emergency Management BC to connect all parties involved to ensure a co-ordinated response. An Incident Management Team, which includes Emergency Environmental Response Officers and other technical specialists, has also been activated.
From Ottawa the Canadian Coast Guard and the Department of National Defence say a Cormorant helicopter from 19 Wing Comox evacuated the vessel master to Sandspit, where his care was turned over to BC Emergency Healthcare. The Cormorant and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter remain on stand-by and have been prepositioned to provide air support should the ten crewmembers still aboard need to be airlifted to safety.
While the crew continues to work on restarting the ship’s engine, the CCG has established an Incident Command Post to co-ordinate the response effort involving federal Departments, Provincial personnel and First Nations. The CCG has a number of its ships, including the Gordon Reid, Sir Wilfrid Laurier,Bartlett, Arrow Post and the W.E. Ricker available to deal with the situation. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre has requested a nearby vessel, the M/V North Star remain on the scene. And an ocean-going tug is assisting as well.
The Canadian Canadian Coast Guard says it is taking proactive measures to ensure that an environmental response plan is in place as required. The president of the council of the Haida Nation, Peter Lantin, says if the ship were to run aground and break up the disaster would be “catastrophic.”
Comments
They are under pressure to cover this up and get it solved quickly! Harper already has sold the oil to china. He needs this squelched from global publicity! Enbridge is gonna have a tough sell now! They have already lost the aboriginals. Bet this will sway a few more proponents of the pipe dream to change their opinion! it won’t happen in my lifetime!
Yes, its a good thing this isn’t a ship carrying crude as its cargo. It makes me think that 220 oil tankers per year would need a contingent of tugs, ready at a moments notice, and big enough to handle those seas and ships, to escort each one of them out to the open ocean.
I guess Enbridge can go on dreaming its dreams because that’s about all they have left for the B.C. end of their pipeline.
According to Transport Canada, an incident like this would not happen to tankers coming out of Kitimat based on the reqirements put to Enbridge. Escort tugs etc… The Ruskie would have dropped anchors when close enough anyways…kind of standard procedure for any vessel big or small.
Imagine all the long faces at the Kool-Aid queue, at Dipper Central! They are waiting for a canoe to overturn and a liter of canola oil is spilled so they can cry environmental disaster. They were hoping this would turn out golden for them. Too bad the Coast Guard is funded sufficiently to have a vessel arrive and tow the stricken ship out to sea.
Try again chicken little. Next!
Couldn’t agree more , Jimmy!
Western3 and give more take a deep breath, relax slowly let it out. Feel better now.
The tow line broke, ship is now back adrift.
46kms out at sea, versus the freak-out inducing 14km. Tug is almost at the vessel. Nothing to SEA here. Move along. Next.
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