Bella Bella diesel spill cleanup complicated by severe weather

A tug boat that ran aground near Bella Bellaloaded with 59,924 gallons of dieselfuelhas reignited calls to bantanker traffic in B.C. waters.

The Nathan E. Stewart was pushing the empty fuel barge, DBL 55,owned by the U.S. company Kirby Offshore Marine, when it ran aground onEdge Reef near Athlone Island early Thursday morning, spilling diesel fuel into the marine ecosystem.

According to the most recent updateprovided by the U.S. company, two of the tug's fuel tanks were breached.The vessel is still partially submerged in nine metres of water. The company saidadverseweather iscomplicatingcleanup efforts.

Overflights of the crash area showed a sheen throughout nearby Gale Passage and a heavier concentration of oil with dull, purple colours around the tug.

According to the report, most of the diesel appears to be boomed and contained but some is still seeping out.

Crews are now prioritizing deploying more booms at two points in Gale Passageand additional booming around the site of the submerged tug.

A four-person command post,which includes commanders from Kirby Offshore Marine, the B.C. Government, the Canadian Coast Guard and theHeiltsukFirst Nations,has been established to make decisions about response efforts.

Responders from the Western Canada Marine Response Corporationare also on the scene.

Calls for tanker bans

With cleanup efforts underway, the potential environmentalimpacts of the crash have already drawn widespread criticism fromlocalFirst Nationsand the federal NDP, which iscalling onthe Trudeau government to fulfil apromise for a moratorium ontanker traffic on B.C.'s North Coast.

"We just don't have the equipment on the coast to react when a spill like this happens," saidNathan Cullen,NDPMP forSkeenaBulkleyValley, on CBC's The Early Edition.

Cullen said it's been more than a year since Trudeau promised the moratorium. He said the tug's grounding and subsequent sinking is a sign of things to come.

For one, the tug boat crashed on its return voyageafter delivering 52,000 barrels of oil, said Cullen.

"It could have been much, much worse," he said."We're waiting we want that permanent ban in place."

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Communities upset

Surrounding First Nations are concerned significant damage has been done to marine ecosystems specifically the local clam populations.

MarilynSlett, the chiefcouncillorof theHeiltsukTribal Council, says her community's economy relies on the clam harvest and the local species will undoubtedly be harmed because of the spill.

"The effects will be felt by our community," she said. "We've worked so hard to preserve the integrity of our ecosystems around our coast."

• Clam beds at risk after sinking tug spills fuel nearBellaBella, says local First Nations

Slett says volunteersare working tirelessly alongside the Coast Guardto contain the spill area and keep cleanup boomsdeployed.

Weather complicating cleanup

But the violent weather that has struck the Pacific Northwest isn't making recovery operationseasy.

As storms continue to slam Vancouver Island and the rest of the Lower Mainland, cleanup efforts have been complicated, according Kirby's updates.

Heavy winds and currents have pushed the2,500 feet of boom out of place.

And onThursday evening, the empty barge broke awayfrom the tug boat and began drifting away. It has since been recovered by cleanup crewsandis nowanchored at the mouth of Dundavan Inlet.

Galeforce winds of 34 to 47 knots are expected to continue to hit the crash site overnight, according to Environment Canada.

Divers have been able to plug several of the leaking vents,and plans are currently underway to extract the remaining fuel before safely removing the tug.

Federal government responds

In an official statement released to the CBC, the federal government saidit's in the early stages of investigating the inciddent.

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"Transport Canada has dispatched technical expertise to support the response activitiesand will conduct a compliance and enforcement inspection ...once the emergency is stable and will not hesitate to take appropriate action," it said.

"Transport Canada's first priority is the safety and protection of the public and the environment."

With files from CBC's The Early Edition and BC Almanac

To listen to the full interview, click on the audio labelled: Tug boat crash reignites debate over B.C. tanker ban