Barge emergency off B.C. coast highlights risk of tanker traffic, First Nation says

An incident with a massive U.S. freight barge off the B.C. coast is a stark reminder of the dangers of increased tanker traffic, the local First Nation says.

An ongoing marine emergency involving a U.S. freight barge highlights the risks associated with allowing more oil tanker traffic off the B.C. coast, according to the local First Nation.

The loaded barge began taking on water Monday in Fisher Channel, approximately 15 kilometres from the remote coastal community of Bella Bella.

The vessel has since been moved to a “nearby place of refuge,” where it is being monitored by an emergency response team from the Heiltsuk Nation, according to a statement from the Canadian Coast Guard.

“There is currently no observation of pollution,” the statement added.

Transport Canada confirmed Wednesday that the barge contains refrigerated containers and diesel to fuel them, as well as dry goods.

No further details about the cargo have been shared, to the frustration of the Heiltsuk Nation, which said that information would allow members to properly prepare for any potential environmental impacts.

William Housty, director of the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, said the emergency response team has already set up a containment boom around the vessel as a precaution.

“In a worst-case scenario, we don’t know what to expect,” Housty told CTV News on Wednesday. “So we’re taking all protective measures we can.”

The incident comes amid rumours of an oil pipeline memorandum of understanding between the federal government and Alberta, and a possible exemption to the current tanker ban along the B.C.’s northwest coast.

In a statement, the Heiltsuk Nation said those developments “could not come at a worse time,” and noted the community is still recovering from the sinking of the Nathan E. Stewart in 2016, which released more than 107,000 litres of fuel into the ocean.

“Our cultural and harvesting areas have remained closed since then,” it said. “That was a spill under 700 barrels in size and polluted over 1,500 acres of our territory. In contrast, supertankers can carry two million barrels of oil. We cannot imagine and will never allow that kind of risk in our territory.”

Housty noted there are limited resources available to aid in this week’s emergency response, and that much more would be required in the event of a major oil spill.

“We’re there with everything that we have, and it’s not enough,” he said.

The barge appears to have run aground, according to Housty, who said dive inspections turned up multiple holes on the bottom of the hull.

The Heiltsuk team will continue monitoring the vessel this week while waiting for a secondary barge to arrive and offload the cargo, which his expected to begin Thursday.

The Canadian Coast Guard noted the barge owner will be responsible for any costs associated with addressing the incident.

That includes “hazard-related costs like cleanup or repairs and any remediation action taken by the federal government,” according to its statement.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure