Canadian Coast Guard Officer in Charge Matt Jantzen was on scene at a diesel spill at the District of Port Hardy docks April 21.
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is responsible for ensuring the cleanup of ship-sourced spills of oil and other pollutants into Canadian waters.
This includes: monitoring cleanup efforts by polluters; managing cleanup efforts when polluters are unknown, or unwilling or unable to respond to a marine pollution incident.
Canadian law holds polluters responsible for costs associated with cleaning up spills, including CCG’s costs for monitoring and/or managing a response effort.
The spill in Port Hardy occurred after a vessel came to grief the night before, Jantzen said.
According to Lara Sloan, communications advisor with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, once the vessel was secured the skipper was asked to check the fuel tank and discovered there was a broken line, but there was no fuel coming from it.
However, in the morning the Harbour Master noticed there was fuel around the vessel. The Harbour Master laid out some boom and absorbent pads, Sloan said.
“The diesel spill was cleaned up with the absorbent pads and boom that was provided and deployed by the Canadian Coast Guard with assistance from the harbour master,” said Sloan.
“The materials have been recovered for proper disposal,” she said, and “there is no remaining diesel fuel on the water. Diesel fuel is a non-persistent type of oil and rapidly dissipates/evaporates.”
The owner of the vessel will be given a bill for the clean-up.
Transport Canada also has the authority to charge the owner under section 187 of the Canada Shipping Act - Discharge of a Pollutant.