Bulk vessel blamed for oil spill at Port of Vancouver

Canadian Coast Guard and other agencies continue to clean up the spill amid criticism that emergency response was too slow to prevent environmental damage.    The Canadian Coast Guard and other agencies continue to clean up an oil spill in English Bay outside the Port of Vancouver amid loud criticism that emergency response was too slow to prevent fouling of beaches with bunker oil.
   The Coast Guard said it was notified by municipal emergency services officials on April 8 at 5:10 p.m. that a slick was visible around the bulk grain carrier Marathassa on its maiden voyage from Korea. At 6:08 p.m., it informed the industry-funded Western Canada Marine Response Corp. of the problem and crews arrived on the scene at 9:25 p.m. with multiple vessels.
   The industry response team carried out skimming and completed securing a boom around the vessel by 5:53 a.m. on April 9, according to the Coast Guard. It claimed that 80 percent of the spill was contained and recovered within 36 hours and air surveillance on April 11 confirmed that only a small amount of non-recoverable oil remained on the water.
   The sea agency said its response to the spill was “exceptional by international standards” and that it is now moving to clean up the shoreline.
   But critics questioned why it took several hours to establish a boom around the vessel from the time of the first call, according to reports in the Vancouver Sun. The Coast Guard claimed part of the problem stemmed from the vessel owner denying that there was a problem when contacted by authorities. City officials also complained about the lack of communication about the spill and the toxicity of the oil, which prevented rapid deployment of crews to clean the beaches.
   Under Canadian law, the owner of the Marathassa is responsible for paying the cost for recovery operations.
   The spill was apparently caused by mechanical problems with the ship’s pumping system combined with a valve leak that sent fuel into the water instead of being contained in the ship, a Transport Canada official told the Vancouver Sun.