GULF CAJUN

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Plan to tow runaway barge postponed due to poor weather

The plan to tow the loaded fuel barge "Zidell Marine 277" to safety by the "Gulf Cajun" after it broke off its tug was scuttled by poor weather in the afternoon of Nov 27, 2017, near Bella Bella, but crews were able to anchor both by evening. The barge was being pushed through the Queen Charlotte Sound by the tug "Jake Shearer" when it broke apart from the fuel barge in rough seas on Nov 27. The connecting mechanism was damaged, and a new tug was required to complete the tow job. The "Gulf Cajun" was brought in to tow the barge the rest of the way, and arrived on Nov 27 where the "Jake Shearer" had anchored in the Inside Passage. But deteriorating weather conditions kept the "Gulf Cajun" and its Coast Guard escort from tugging the barge to the original place of refuge and they set off for a new location at the north end of Campbell Island. The Coast Guard was working with the province, federal government and local First Nations on its response. In the morning of Nov 28 the agency confirmed the tug and barge were safely anchored in Norman Morison Bay, about five kilometres north of Bella Bella. Booms had been placed around the vessels as a precaution and both were to be inspected. An aerial sweep by a Coast Guard flight over the area Monday included an Environmental Emergency Response Officer. No sheen or product was observed in the water around the barge, the tug or at the barge’s previous location. Further examination showed no indications of fuel release from the tug or barge, but a Canadian Coast Guard vessel was monitoring nearby. The barge incident came just over a year after the tug "Nathan E. Steward" ran aground, spilling about 110,000 litres of diesel and other contaminants into the water nearby. The Heiltsuk Nation was calling for the federal government to support its plan for Canada’s first Indigenous Marine Response Centre, first proposed earlier this month following a report on the response to the October 2016 spill and renewed by this week's scare. Harley Marine Services, the U.S. owner of the barge, will conduct a full investigation into what happened. The company has been using articulated tug barges without any issue until now. Divers from the company were expected to examine the tug on Nov 28, along with inspectors from Transport Canada. Reports with photos and video: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/loaded-fuel-barge-towed-to-safety-after-breaking-free-from-tug-1.3697462 https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/7249/