Second B.C. shipping incident in two days heightens concerns over Enbridge Northern Gateway project
A second ocean-going vessel has run into trouble on the B.C. north coast in two days, creating further fodder for critics seeking to block the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project.
Dan Bate, spokesman for the Canadian Coast Guard, said Friday that the deep-sea cargo ship, Tern Arrow, lost engine power in heavy seas and 40-knot winds near Laredo Sound south of Kitimat on Thursday at 2:17 p.m.
The Bahamas-registered 188-metre ship drifted for almost three hours before establishing emergency power at 5 p.m. and heading to open water at one to three knots southbound for the Pine Island pilot station, Bate said.
"At the time the vessel regained power it was south of McInnes Island in open waters." he added.
Bate said the coast guard ship Gordon Reid was "tasked by the Rescue Centre, but stood off in sheltered waters once the crew of the cargo ship was able to regain emergency power." The ship's master reported full propulsion restored at 3:07 a.m. on Friday.
The vessel left the Kitimat Alcan dock, carrying bulk goods, bound for Portland, said Bate, adding two pilots would have joined the ship at Kitimat and disembarked at Pine Island Pilot Station.
Pacific Wild's Ian McAllister, who lives on Denny Island on the central coast, said the two events bring a strong dose of reality to an Enbridge advertising campaign currently underway designed to allay public concerns.
"As that campaign is rolling out, two near shipping disasters on the same part of the coast where these oil tankers are proposed to transit," he said. "Enbridge's analysis of shipping-disaster potential really needs to be revisited."
On Tuesday night, a loaded container ship, the 279-metre German-registered Hanjin Geneva, changed course to avoid a small fishing boat and hit a sandbar about six nautical miles from Prince Rupert.
The ship was pulled free of the sandbar by a tugboat at high tide Wednesday morning. There was no leak of oil and no injuries.
The ship was piloted by a B.C. coastal pilot, an experienced mariner whose job is navigating large vessels into harbours and through coastal waters.
Access article here: http://www.canada.com/news/metro/Second+shipping+incident+days+heightens+concerns+over+Enbridge/7601958/story.html