ARICHAT, N.S. -- Canadian Coast Guard divers have been called in to remove thousands of litres of oil from a ship that sank 45 years ago off Nova Scotia's eastern shore.
The tanker Arrow ran aground on Cerberus Rock near Arichat, N.S., in February 1970.
At the time, the wreck caused one of the worst oil spills in Canadian history, dumping about 8,000 tonnes of oil that fouled 300 kilometres of Chedabucto Bay's shoreline and killed 2,500 sea birds.
The latest cleanup was organized after a slick was spotted during a routine surveillance flight Aug. 28.
Spill response specialist Kyle Jarvis said it's unclear how much oil spilled from the tanker before the slick was spotted.
"We're trying to remove as much as we can and keep everything safe for the environment," he said in an interview from aboard the barge that is collecting the oil.
About 4,400 litres of heavy, bunker C oil has been pumped from the wreck so far and about 16,000 litres remain, he said.
Before the pumping started, divers placed a temporary neoprene patch on the hull to stop the leaking.
The wreck is under 20 metres of water.
"So far, so good," said Jarvis. "Now we're doing everything we can to prevent further leaks ... What we're doing seems to be working."
Jarvis said he didn't know how much oil will be recovered from the Arrow or how long the operation will take.
However, he said the progress of the cleanup will largely depend on the weather.
Stormy conditions are expected to move into the area Thursday as the remnants of hurricane Patricia bring heavy rain and strong winds gusting at 70 kilometres per hour in the morning.
In 1970, the Liberian-flagged vessel was delivering 16,200 tonnes of oil from Venezuela to the pulp mill at Point Tupper, N.S., when it ran into the reef named for the three-headed dog that guards the mythical gates of Hades.
The ship was operating with an inaccurate compass, quirky radar and a depth sounder that hadn't worked for months.
The Arrow's captain, George Anastasopoulos, was six degrees off course and almost two kilometres closer to the reef than he thought.
Ignoring what he thought were spurious signals from the radar, the captain, his mate and a lookout watched for Cerberus Rock only on the starboard side. The Arrow crashed straight into the reef at a barely reduced speed of 12 knots. at 9:35 a.m. on Feb. 4, 1970.
Much of the oil on the ship was pumped out by salvagers, but some remained.
In 2002, Environment Canada conducted a three-day training exercise in the bay, where the impact of the original spill was still evident.
At the time, a federal official said the smell of bunker C oil was still strong in areas where the oil had settled and hardened in the rocks.
By Michael MacDonald in Halifax
