'We're just thrilled': Oil from Manolis L shipwreck to be cleaned out this summer

The federal government announced Wednesday that it intends to remove all "recoverable oil" from the rotting Manolis L shipwreck on Newfoundland's northeast coast.

"Finally, this is going to get done," said Liberal MP ScottSimms, whomade the announcement in Gander on Wednesday.

"It's a special day for a lot of people."

The government will issue a request for proposals to remove most of the estimated 115,000 to 150,000 litresof oil which is stuck inside the ManolisL, lodged nearFogo Island and Change Islands.

Simmssaid the goal is to award a contract this spring and he hopes the bulk of the work will be done over the summer.

• Canadian Coast Guard recommends removal of oil from Manolis L
• Watch this underwater video of divers at Manolis L shipwreck

The Liberian-flagged freighter sank in 1985and became dislodged in 2013, causing oil to leak into Notre Dame Bay. Since then, there have been various efforts to contain the leak, including installing a cofferdam around the cracked hull.

The Canadian Coast Guard recommended in December 2016 that removing the oil thefrom the wrecked paper carrier was the best way forward.

"Obviously, there will be small amounts of oil in piping and stuff that we may not be able to get out," saidWade Spurrell,the CanadianCoast Guard'sAssistant Commissioner for the Atlantic Region.

'We're just thrilled by this'

For Carolyn Parsons, co-chair of the Manolis L Citizen's Response Committee, the announcement is the culmination of years of hard work.

"We're just ecstatic this is the goal. We're just thrilled by this," she said.

The group has been advocating for the clean up for yearssounding the alarm on pollution concernsandParsons explainedthe small, sporadic leaks into Notre Dame Bay has had a big impact on local residents.

"They don't fish in that area any more, they don't put their crab nets or crab pots or their gill nets or anything out in that area anymore, because if the oil gets on there, they ruin their gear," she said.

"That's money gone."

Parsons said she understands that there may be limitations to this year's clean-up.

"You've got the ocean, you've got different kinds of oil, but[the hazardous pollution] is what we've been wantingto get out and it looks like that's what they're going to focus on," she said.

But, she added, the committee still has work to do.

"We will keep checking on things until the oil is actually out we'll be watching," said Parsons.

Not a simple task

The cleanup is a complicated process, involving specialized equipment and skills that could have to be sourced from elsewhere in the world.

Spurrell said Wednesday that there are a number of methods that could be used and that more information will be needed from marine salvage experts before a plan is devised.

He added the Coast Guard has only overseen two of these operations in the past eight years.

The vessel, however, will definitely be staying put.

"The recovery of the wreck itself would be a much more complicated, difficult operation," Spurrell said.

While the costs are not yet known, Simms saidmoney has already been spent on monitoring the wreckand maintaining the temporary cofferdams.

"We want a permanent solution because year over year we are looking at spending millions of dollars," he said.

Simms added it is clear that full removal of the oil is the solution.

"Imean, if this thing had opened up and become a disaster... in the short term [that] would have been eradication of the fishing industry in that area, tourism would have taken a major hit," he said.