AmericasEnvironmentOperations

Sunken US tugboat spills diesel in British Columbia waters

A tugboat that ran aground and sank on British Columbia’s central coast has spilled an unknown quantity of diesel, according to CBC.

The Nathan E Stewart, owned by Kirby Corporation of Houston, Texas, grounded on a reef near Bella Bella at the entrance to Sea Forth Channel on Athlone Island.

The tug was pushing an empty petroleum barge when the incident occurred.

All the seven crew on the tug were safe said Canadian Coast Guard whose personnel were coordinating the response.

The tug had begun its journey from Ketchikan in Alaska to Vancouver with 50,000 gallons of fuel.

Environmentalists and First Nations spokesmen were concerned about possible harm to a nearby harvesting area for manila clam beds.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.

Comments

  1. And what will happen to management besides nothing ? That’s corruption for you, POS still having a job is ridiculous !

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