Sunken B.C. tug’s tanks now pumped out, thousands of litres of fuel not recovered
BELLA BELLA, B.C. — More than 90,000 litres of diesel have yet to be accounted for after a group overseeing cleanup of a spill from a submerged tug on British Columbia’s central coast said the tanks aboard the Nathan E. Stewart have been pumped out.
Heiltsuk Nation Chief Marilyn Slett said members of her First Nation were on local beaches Tuesday trying to limit pollution after fuel soiled the shoreline along the renowned Great Bear Rainforest on B.C.’s central coast.
“The crews have been raking the beaches physically with a rake to try and bring up the diesel that’s trapped. We understand the diesel’s trapped up to eight inches below the surface and then they flush it out with water and then they repeat that,” she said.
A joint report issued by the American tug owner and federal, provincial and First Nations representatives said 110,131 litres of an oil-water mixture have been recovered.