The Western Canada Marine Response Corporation was tasked to an oil spill in the Nanaimo Harbour on Wednesday morning.
Michael Lowry, senior manager of communications for the organization says three vessels from the Nanaimo base responded, and two additional vessels from the Sidney and Vancouver bases were brought in as a precaution.
“Most of the oil was confined on the deck of the M/V Maipo River and what did spill from the vessel was contained within log booms surrounding the vessel,” Lowry said in an email statement. “Initial reports indicate very little oil is outside of the containment zone. No exact numbers yet on volume.”
On Thursday, crews began recovery of waste but there is no timeline for how long the work will take to complete.
The Canadian Coast Guard says the spill occurred during a fuel transfer.
The source of the spill has been controlled. The Incident Command Post is overseeing all response activities. @MarineResponse is working to protect sensitive areas, as identified by the @Snuneymuxw First Nation.
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) July 27, 2023
Recovery sweeps underway in Nanaimo Harbour. pic.twitter.com/U3XmaaKx0C
— WCMRC (@MarineResponse) July 26, 2023
Our crews have successfully completed today's on water operations for the fuel spill from the M/V Maipo River in #NanaimoHarbour. Night monitoring operations are planned for overnight. #marineresponse pic.twitter.com/7ywelgPrIX
— WCMRC (@MarineResponse) July 26, 2023
Laura Brougham
