Americas News
"Avoidable" Bunker Spill After Canadian Tug Sinks
Canadian tug, Chaulk Determiniation, Friday sank at Trois-Rivières port spilling bunkers into the St. Lawrence River, CBC reports.
The tug was carrying 22 tonnes of diesel when it sank on Friday afternoon but no crew were aboard.
An effort to stop the leak and recover bunkers already spilled was this weekend said to still be underway, with nine tonnes of diesel having been removed already.
A spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), Michel Plamondon, said the clean up operation is likely to take several days but admitted it was difficult to predict how quickly the operation could be completed.
"The priority is really to conduct oil containment and recovery operations," he said.
"We have no clue to how long it'll take to pick everything up."
He also said CCG is hoping to refloat the vessel before the end of December.
It is unclear how much that clean up effort will cost or who will foot the bill, with suggestions that the vessel's owner, Cai Marine Inc., is unable to pay.
Trois-Rivières port authority said the incident was avoidable, with the vessel's owner having been notified weeks before its sinking that the boat's condition was precarious, but no action was taken.
Québec's Gaz Métro December welcomed the announcement of state funding for energy efficiency initiatives.
