Fuel tanker aground in Northwest Passage
Last Updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010 | 9:40 PM ET Comments294Recommend273
CBC News
A fuel tanker carrying 9½ million litres of diesel fuel has run aground in the Northwest Passage, the Canadian Coast Guard confirmed Thursday.
The merchant tanker Nanny is shown in St. John's harbour. The ship was delivering fuel supplies in Nunavut when it ran aground Wednesday in Simpson Strait. (Submitted by Clarence Vautier)Coast guard officials say the merchant tanker Nanny, owned by Woodward's Oil Ltd., ran aground on an uncharted sandbar Wednesday in Simpson Strait, about 50 kilometres southwest of Gjoa Haven, a hamlet on King William Island in western Nunavut.
"The coast guard ship Henry Larsen has just entered the area. I believe it's at anchor just off of Gjoa Haven as we speak," Larry Trigatti, an environmental response official with the coast guard, told CBC News on Thursday afternoon.
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"It's monitoring the situation by helicopter. As you can imagine, there are some shoals in the area, so we want to be very careful in going into that zone."
Trigatti said the situation is stable and the modern, double-hulled ship wasn't damaged on impact. "And there's been no report of danger to the crew or loss of any product or pollutant," he said.
Woodward's is a major oil supplier to Canada's Arctic. The tanker has been travelling from Taloyoak as it resupplied diesel to remote communities in the region.
Jeannie Ugyuk, the MLA for Gjoa Haven, said she thinks the ship went off course.
"The local people of Gjoa Haven state that usually it goes more to the east side, but for some reason this ship went more to the west side," she said.
Woodward's has worked out a plan with the Nunavut government to free the beached tanker. Fuel will be pumped from it to another tanker until the stranded tanker is light enough to float. That operation could take more than a week.
Last month, another tanker owned by Woodward's ran aground near Pangnirtung, on southern Baffin Island.
The tanker had finished unloading a bulk shipment of gasoline on Aug. 8 when it became grounded in the local harbour, tipping at an angle in low tide.
No fuel spilled from that ship, which eventually became dislodged in high tide within hours. But the incident alarmed Pangnirtung community officials, who said they are not prepared to deal with a major fuel spill.
Ugyuk said a major spill in Gjoa Haven would have been devastating.
"I don't know if people are prepared for it. I know we're prepared for a small fuel leak," she said.
Northwest Passage tanker could be stuck for days
- The Merchant Vessel Nanny slammed into the uncharted sandbar Wednesday in Simpson ... The tanker's crew is safe and no fuel has spilled from the intact ... CBC.ca - 281 related articles » |
In the early 1960's Melvin Woodward formed Woodward's Oil Limited to service the home heat delivery business in Happy Vally-Goose Bay. The Company expanded to include trucking and stevedoring services, as well as provide aircraft ground handling services for International Military forces and civilian users at Goose Bay airport under Woodward's Limited.
1973 saw the establishment of Coastal Shipping Limited to provide fuel deliveries to coastal Newfoundland and Labrador communities. The Company has since expanded to include service to the Canadian Arctic with the tankers Tuvaq, Dorsch, Mokami and Sybil W.
In 1976 the Company opened its first General Motors franchise in Goose Bay, Labrador Motors Limited. Since then it has opened franchises in Labrador City, Bay Roberts, St. Anthony, L'Anse Au Clair and Hawkes Bay. In 1994 Woodwards acquired the provincial franchise for National Car Rentals and Woodward Rent-A-Car was formed. In 1977 Woodward Auto Sales was established.
In 1998 Coastal Labrador Marine Services commenced operations to provide freight and passenger service to Goose Bay and Labrador Coastal Communities. In 2000 Labrador Marine Incorporated was formed to include CLMS and the MS Apollo began ferry service on the Strait of Belle Isle. The Sir Robert Bond services Cartwright and Goose Bay from Lewisporte and the Northern Ranger provides service to coastal Labrador communites. The Astron was aquired in 2004 to provide freight service.
http://woodwards.nf.ca/
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