CURRENT SITUATION:

Tug Westview Chinook was assisting the 63′ George H Ledcor tug and its loaded gravel barge in the North Arm of the Fraser River. The barge Girded the Ledcor tug putting 4 crew in the water. The Westview Chinook recovered all 4 crew and secured the tug alongside at the Sea Island Barge tie-up. Initial booming was conducted, and the responsible party arranged for a Rig and Scow to right the Vessel. WCMRC was tasked and is staged at MacDonald Beach.

There was no change in vessel position overnight and it remains submerged upright between the two crane barges. Containment boom was maintained around the downstream side of vessel to collect any free-floating oil.

Around 2300 PDT August 15, 2018 sheening was noticed around the vessel within the containment. WCMRC skimming vessel collected 300-400 liters of liquid oily waste and 23 bags of oiled sorbent material. CCG 701 maintained traffic and safety control throughout the night.

*NEW INFORMATION RECEIVED AFTER 10:00 COORDINATION CALL*
Vessel lifted at approx. 1030 PDT August 16, 2018.

UNIFIED COMMAND:

  • First Nation Incident Commander – Morgan Guerin
  • Federal Incident Commander – Timothy McCann
  • Provincial Incident Commander – Ken Meeks
  • Municipal Incident Commander – Chad Paulin
  • Responsible Party Incident Commander – Mark McElligott

PRIORITIES / OBJECTIVES:

  • Ensure safety of responders and the public.
  • Manage a coordinated response.
  • Minimize the risk of release of pollutants,
  • Maximize protection of sensitive areas (biological, cultural, economic and socio-economic).
  • Contain, recover and dispose of spilled product.
  • Monitor for impacts on the environment.
  • Ensure timely and effective communication of incident partners, stakeholders, public, and senior managers.

SAFETY:

Safety is a priority during the critical lifting and salvage operations and will be discussed in detail on site before operations begin and throughout the process.

  • All vessels are using an agreed upon working channel (VHF CH 69)
  • Safety protocols remain in place and there have been no injuries or illness reported overnight.
  • Results from continuous air monitoring by WCMRC and SCAT teams have found all results within Occupational Exposure Limits notably no hits on H2S, VOC’s, and Benzene.
  • All incidents must be reported immediately by supervisors, so a proper safety investigation can be completed.

FISHERIES:

  • Gill net fishery is open in parts of the Fraser River Mouth from August 16, 2018 from 06:00 hours to 22:00 hours. Subarea 29-12 remains closed at this time due to a recent spill response incident.

INCIDENT COMMAND POST:

  • The ICP continues to operate out of the Musqueam Hall at 6615 Salish Drive.

THE STAGING AREA:

  • The staging area remains at McDonald Beach Park.
  • On-water staging of equipment has been on vessels and barges around the response site.

ACTIONS TAKEN:

  • Booms in place as of August 15, 2018 1445 PDT:
    • Containment of spill site (river boom and sorbents)
    • McDonald Beach Park (sorbent boom along boat launch and drainage)
    • Musqueam Slough/Creek (exclusion boom)
  • Vessel was successfully righted at 1530 PDT August 15, 2018.
  • Waste Management Plan complete with accompanying permits.
  • 2,980 kg of solid waste has been recovered.
  • WCMRC mini barge is on scene with 40,000 L storage capacity.

CURRENT ACTIONS:

  • Overflights from CCG Helicopters are scheduled around noon.
  • WCMRC and Coast Guard will remain on scene to recover any product if released and maintain effective booming containment.
  • CCG 709 will continue to provide transport to SCAT teams if needed and CG 701 remains in the area for traffic control.
  • FRPD, AMIX remain on scene with the lifted tug.
  • Pumping operations continue and the vessel will be towed to Arrow Shipyard once stability has been confirmed.

SCAT:

  • SCAT teams currently deployed at the incident site prior to lift and will revisit segments from yesterday.

WEATHER AND TIDES:

FORECAST: Wind southeast 5 to 15 knots. Wind becoming light this afternoon then becoming southeast 5 to 15 after midnight

WIND: Winds ESE 10kts

TIDE: High tide @ 1009 PDT – at a depth of 3.4 meters

CURRENTS: Approx. 1 kts current in flood direction

AGENCIES INVOLVED:

  • Canadian Coast Guard
  • Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  • Musqueam First Nation
  • BC Ministry of Environment
  • Environment Climate Change Canada
  • Transport Canada” Transportation Safety Board
  • City of Vancouver” Port Metro Vancouver
  • City of Richmond
  • Ledcor
  • Canadian Wildlife Service
  • Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
  • WCMRC
  • EMBC
  • Tsleil-Waututh First Nation
  • First Nations Health Authority