An emergency response team is on site after a loaded U.S. freight barge began taking on water near the coastal B.C. community of Bella Bella. The Canadian Coast Guard said the ingress was reported by tug vessel Malolo, owned by Dunlap Towing, on Monday afternoon. “The tug and barge were transiting from Alaska to Seattle when the barge started to take on water in Fisher Channel,” spokesperson Michelle Imbeau said in email. Imbeau could not confirm the cargo being transported on the vessel’s hundreds of shipping containers, but said there haven’t been any reports of pollution. The Heiltsuk Nation’s marine response team is investigating the cause of the incident, and has been monitoring the barge for any environmental impacts. William Housty, director of the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department, told CTV news it appears the vessel may have struck ground. “There’s a significant hole at the bottom of the barge,” Housty said Tuesday. “Right now, the strategy is to get it into a safe harbour.” Time is a factor due to gusting winds in the forecast this week, he said. “We’re expecting some wind coming in the next 24 to 36 hours—nothing terribly significant, but the area that they’re currently in is pretty exposed and they’re pretty vulnerable, so we’re wanting to get them tucked away,” Housty said. The Heiltsuk Nation will be surrounding the vessel with a precautionary containment boom while members work to confirm the contents of the barge’s cargo, he added. “There’s some, you know, hurdles that we’re trying to overcome,” Housty said. “It’s an American ship in Canadian waters, and there’s declarations and different things they need to make, but not necessarily to us.” This week’s incident and other marine emergencies near Bella Bella—including the 2016 sinking of a tugboat, which spilled more than 107,000 litres of fuel into the ocean—highlight the Heiltsuk Nation’s concerns around tanker traffic in coastal waters, Housty said. “We’re very fortunate at this time that we know for certain that the cargo barge isn’t carrying any sort of petroleum,” he added. “But this is the exact worst-case scenario that we envision with increased tanker traffic off the coast.” Related: B.C. Premier Eby says lifting the tanker ban would sink billions in ‘real’ projects
