Owners of B.C. barge ordered to pay costs for its rescue and rehabilitation

The Federal Court of Canada says the owners of a derelict barge in British Columbia have defaulted and must pay thousands in costs to the Canadian organization that funds the cleanup of marine pollution.

Patricia Wilson, her company Jacobson Marine and Industrial Design,and co-owner Steen Larsenhave been ordered to pay almost $138,000 plus interest to the Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund.

The fund filed a court action to recover its costs after the 60-metre barge Spudnik broke free of its moorings in Howe Sound during high winds in November 2014.

The oil pollution fund's online file of the incident shows the rusting vessel was adrift and in peril of running aground, potentially spilling some of the 6,500 litres of diesel and lube oil aboard.

Coast Guard officials quickly hired a tug to tow the barge to safety in New Westminster, where another firm was retained to remove all the contaminants aboard.

Administrators of the fund paid all the bills by October 2016 and successfully sought a default judgment against Wilson and Larsen for reimbursement under polluter-pay legislation when the pair failed to respond to the court action.