Contractor completes oil removal from sunken Manolis L near Change Islands

Oil from a sunken ship off thecoast of Change Islands has been successfully removed, saidthe Canadian Coast Guard.

The ManolisL, a paper carrier, sank in Notre Dame Bay in 1985 with 150,000 litres of oil aboard. Early last month, work began to remove that oil using remotely operated underwater vehicles, or ROVs, to avoid risks to human divers and allow for longer dives.

A salvage vessel, the Tidewater Enabler, pumped oil from the wreck, under 70 metres of water on Newfoundland's northeast coast. The $15-million contract for oil removal was given to Houston-basedArdent Global.

On Saturday afternoon, the coast guard announced that bulk oil pumping operations are complete.

"The hull survey and monitoring period has commenced and continues until we depart from the site," tweeted the coast guard.

Read more from CBCNewfoundland and Labrador