Up to 100 litres of fuel leaked into English Bay by container ship

Fuel leaked into English Bay

Brendan Kergin / Vancouver is Awesome - Jan 23, 2023 / 10:48 am | Story: 407754

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The Canadian Coast Guard and a marine response crew specializing in ocean fuel slicks put a boom around the MV Europe on Jan. 21, 2023, after an oil sheen was spotted off the coast of Vancouver, B.C.

Canadian Coast Guard and specialized marine response crews are monitoring a fuel leak that happened this weekend off the coast of Vancouver.

The leak was initially spotted near Spanish Banks on Jan. 21 by a Harbour Air pilot and reported to the coast guard. After investigating, the leak was determined to have originated from the CSCL Europe, a container ship that just arrived from Prince Rupert. Prior to the it was in South Korea and China; its home port is Limassol, in Cyprus.

It's estimated the resulting fuel slick is 60 to 100 litres.

A boom was set up around the ship to contain any more leaking fuel.

"We are working today to aggressively contain the slick and remove as much as possible from the marine environment," the coast guard tweeted on Sunday, Jan. 22. "The Musquem, Tsleil Waututh, Squamish, and Lyackson Nations are identifying areas of cultural sensitivity to ensure response partners protect those areas if needed."

They note that there was some fuel floating on the ocean's surface near Point Grey and the North Arm that wouldn't be recoverable.

Transport Canada has stated they will be investigating the ship for compliance with Canada's shipping act.

"This includes an examination of the vessel’s records and documentation and a physical inspection of the vessel," the federal agency tweeted on Sunday.