Fuel Slick Raising Concern

By 250 News

Fuel sheen evident in Grenville Channel, photo courtesy Gitga'at Nation

Hartley Bay, B.C.- The leadership of the Gitga’at Nation held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss what they see as a failure of the federal government to respond appropriately to an unfolding maritime oil spill in the Great Bear Rainforest.

The spill is originating from the Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski, a U.S. army ship that sank in 1946 with 700 tonnes of bunker fuel on board. 

The Gitga’at say the government is underestimating the size of the spill and they are demanding a full clean-up of the wreckage.

“We sent our own people to sample for oil yesterday, and when they got there, they found the Coast Guard fishing,” says Arnold Clifton, Chief Councillor of the Gitga’at Nation. “It’s disgraceful. How can Canadians have any confidence in this government’s ability to deal with an oil spill if they don’t take it seriously?”

Video: Click on video icon at left for  submitted  video of  Canadian Coast Guard "fishing"

The oil spill, which varies in appearance depending on the tides, was recently reported by a commercial pilot as reaching a size between two and five miles long and 200 feet wide inside the Grenville Channel. The Gitga’at have taken their own photos and video of the spill, including an aerial photo showing concentrated plumes of upwelling oil. 

“We were promised this would be cleaned-up by 2010,” says Clifton. “Two years later nothing has happened and it’s only getting worse. We’ve had enough excuses. It’s time for action. Our people depend on a healthy ocean for their livelihood.”

In addition to the Zalinski, the BC ferry Queen of the North is also leaking diesel fuel just south of the Grenville channel. The ferry sank in 2006 with 220,000 litres of diesel fuel and 23,000 litres of lubricating oil on board. The federal government has also been promising to remove the fuel on board that wreckage since 2006, but with no results. 

“The last time we took a fuel sample from the Queen of the North and sent it to the Coast Guard, they yelled at us and asked us why we were taking samples,” says Marven Robinson, a Councillor with the Hartley Bay Band Council. “We’re taking our own samples because the federal government isn’t doing its job.”

The Gitga'at, who were the first responders to the Queen of the North sinking, say the federal government's failure to manage these spills has deepened their opposition to any plan to have oil tankers travel through their territorial waters. The proposed Enbridge pipeline would bring 225 oil tankers per year through Gitga'at territory. 

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Comments

Posted by: Surefire on May 4 2012 6:53 AM

Harper better do something about the oil spills and forget about putting a pipeline through our pristene mountains and forests. Canadian people know that Mr Harper is more about making his rich buddies richer than they could immagine at any cost, but you better not try to ship any buncker "C" oil through B.C. or you will get the ruddest awakening you ever recieved. BC people have spoken and the words have never been clearer the answer is no to an enbridge Pipeline. We all know that no amount of cleaning up could get rid of spilled buncker C oil and we also know that Enbridge avoid any damage caused by their pipeline.

Posted by: coastb on May 4 2012 9:14 AM

Why isn't the American government cleaning up the fuel from their ship?

Posted by: Dragonmaster on May 4 2012 9:22 AM

Because the Canadian govt bends over for the USA.

Posted by: seamutt on May 4 2012 9:25 AM

Wonder how Hartley Bay gets their fuel?

Posted by: Dragonmaster on May 4 2012 10:10 AM

Probably via fuel barge that actually floats and isn't at the bottom of the chuck. One that doesn't leak perhaps.

Posted by: Surefire on May 4 2012 10:13 AM

Hartly Bay probably has it shipped in by barge but in refined and easy to manage quantities and during more ideal weather conditions. Conversly compared to huge ocean going tankers carrying unrefined oil that is far more difficult to clean up after a spill.

Posted by: RUEZ on May 4 2012 10:38 AM

So the ship sank in 1946 but it's Harpers fault it hasn't been cleaned up because he bends over to Americans? Damn this country is full of idiots.

Posted by: szd on May 4 2012 11:22 AM

It's funny how everyone of these people forget to mention the 10000 litres of diesel that was dumped into Hartley Bay when they over filled the local storage tank. Why no arms up in the air over this?? Oh ya it was the locals and not the big bad government wasn't responsible for that!

Posted by: Dragonmaster on May 4 2012 11:30 AM

Comment Posted by: RUEZ on May 4 2012 10:38 AM
So the ship sank in 1946 but it's Harpers fault it hasn't been cleaned up because he bends over to Americans? Damn this country is full of idiots.

Look theres one now!

Posted by: astro on May 4 2012 2:48 PM

the point is that this spill shows us the danger of an oil spill even after 66 years. You can't close your eyes and say it doesn't do damage. It will!

Posted by: seamutt on May 4 2012 3:10 PM

Actually fuel is delivered by coastal tanker or barge. The volume can be larger than what is in the two sunken ships. But not much said about those as fuel needed for all their toys and electricity, where generated on site.

Posted by: Eagleone on May 4 2012 3:43 PM

The moral of the story is out of sight out of mind for politicians and corporate executives. This should worry everyone in the north with a guy like Harper pushing the Enbridge Gateway disaster.

Posted by: RUEZ on May 4 2012 4:23 PM

dragonmaster, please share more of your political wisdom with us.

Posted by: northman on May 4 2012 4:50 PM

The Gitga’at Nation politicans are just as bad as the federal govet politicans because they both lack the leadership to actually do something about it.

Posted by: Surefire on May 4 2012 9:09 PM

This isn't about small fishing vilages using fossel fuel to run their vehicles. It is about Enbridge, their pipeline and the disasters caused by oil leaks of which Enbridge tries to sweep under the carpet. Enbridge has many oil spills and they try to say they don't exist. Why can't Canada refine it's own fossil fuels and have government regulate the pipelines to the east at Canadian prices where oil is purchased off shore? The oil that is left could be sold on the world market at world prices. Canadians could have lower fuel costs and more descretionary money that could go to affordable housing, fighting poverty, funding hospitals repairing infastructure, getting rid of child poverty, and the like. Throw the idea of Enbridge pipelines under the bus.

Posted by: middle finger on May 4 2012 9:41 PM

Ummm...late to the conversation but I'm told in Pearl Harbor(harbour) Hawaii, the sunken war ship the USS Arizona ( sunk december 42 I'm guessing) still leaks fuel today.

Posted by: JohnnyBelt on May 4 2012 10:43 PM

Surefire: "It is about Enbridge, their pipeline and the disasters caused by oil leaks of which Enbridge tries to sweep under the carpet. "

Um, no it's not, but feel free to keep being spoon-fed by the media.

Posted by: JohnnyBelt on May 4 2012 10:48 PM

Surefire: "Canadians could have lower fuel costs and more descretionary money that could go to affordable housing, fighting poverty, funding hospitals repairing infastructure, getting rid of child poverty, and the like."

Another 'old chestnut' as Ben Meisner likes to say.

Posted by: willyj on May 5 2012 1:49 AM

Could it have anything to do with the bc ferry that sank there?

Posted by: JohnnyBelt on May 5 2012 8:04 AM

You might want to read the first paragraph of the article, willyj.

Posted by: Dragonmaster on May 5 2012 9:26 AM

Ahhh ruez, always looking to stir the pot. We know it's a full moon out so you're excused.
Go find your mommy and ask for a hug.

http://northerninsights.blogspot.ca/2012/01/enbridges-empty-promises.html

Posted by: seamutt on May 5 2012 12:13 PM

Surefire you mention refining our oil, yes we should but then how do you get the product to market? PIPELINE, and many more for the different products. Also did you know there are about a million miles of pipeline in North America alone.

Posted by: Palopu on May 5 2012 8:11 PM

Better get off the Harper kick, he is just one of many who would like this line to go through.

How about the hundreds of thousands of Albertans, and the 50,000 jobs associated with the pipeline???

Blaming Harper is nothing more than BS. If Mr. Goofy Ignatiaff had got elected he would be the big bad wolf, and if whats his name Muclair ever forms a Government (God forbid) he would be the big bad wolf.

Harper hasnt been around long enough to have **big corporate buddies** At least not anymore than any other two bit political parties in this Country.

Maybe we should shut down all the oil pipelines, and gas stations, etc; and go back to burning wood, and running steam engines. People could go to and from work by horse back, and we would have a huge surplus of horse manure (much like we have on some of the posts) that we could use for fertilizer, and we could all live on farms, eat animals ie;pigs,cows, chickens, ducks, geese, etc; drink milk, and live happily ever after/.

Just picking up the horse manure would provide thousands of jobs.