A 60-foot steel landing craft sunk in the Mamquam Blind Channel last week, leaking oil into the waterway and igniting tempers.
When Mark Cormier came down to the harbour on the morning of March 20, he was welcomed by a thin layer of oil spreading out into the channel. This is the third time he's seen such a spill, Cormier said, adding once again it's one time too many.
I am really sick of it, he said, while steering his boat Seadog out to the spill site.
Last week, members of the Squamish Streamkeepers took photographs of this year's herring spawning in Howe Sound. Late on March 19, when the barge sank, the wind was blowing out into the sound, pushing the oil with it, Cormier said.
It's time for government officials to deal with the issue of derelict vessels, he said, noting the barge, which contained a parked truck aboard, has been docked in the waterway for approximate a year. It's time for somebody to step up to the plate, Cormier said.
Everybody just points the finger, he said, after exchanging some pointed words with the vessel's owner on the water.
Canadian Coast Guard officials were informed of the incident Wednesday morning. The barge sits beneath 25 feet of water adjacent to the Squamish Yacht Club, Coast Guard spokesperson Dan Bate wrote in an email to The Chief.
The sunken vessel is upwelling light oil or diesel in limited amounts, he wrote. The owner has deployed several bales of sorbent boom fixed with anchoring around the site to contain the leaked fuel.
Coast Guard officials are monitoring the owner's efforts, Bate stated. The owner is working on a recovery plan.
Under the Canada Shipping Act of 2001, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans may only remove a vessel from the marine environment if the vessel is discharging, has discharged, or is likely to discharge a pollutant that the owner is unable or unwilling to address. In addition, the action can only take place when the removal of the vessel is considered the best option.
In the absence of pollution, the Canadian Coast Guard has no role in the administration or disposal of derelict vessels, Bate wrote. Under Canada's Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response Regime, the polluter is responsible for addressing any pollution they have caused.
For more updates, check out the March 28 edition of The Chief.
