Canada’s Department of National Defence announced that one of its ships, ‘HMCS Calgary’, reported a spill of approximately 30,000 litres of fuel of F76 type in the Straits of Georgia, in the morning of Saturday, 24 February.
At the time of the incident, the patrol frigate was sailing in the strait’s shipping lanes between Nanaimo and Parksville. The spill occurred while crews aboard the vessel were transferring fuel internally. According to Jeff Zwick, commander of the Canadian fleet in the Pacific region, as quoted by CBC news, the human error was likely a factor, but an investigation has been launched to determine the exact causes.
It is reported that once the crew was alerted, it corrected the problem that was causing the leak and reversed course to look for the spilled fuel, making an efficient response to the incident.
Maritime Forces (Pacific) is coordinating with Environment Climate Change Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada and BC Emergency Management to ensure necessary actions are taken.
The Department of National Defence is responsible for the environmental response and clean up and is being supported by the Canadian Coast Guard as needed.
However initial assessments suggest that F-76, a naval fuel used in compression ignition engines, is lighter than water and could evaporate quickly without a significant impact to marine life.
As it relates to impact on fisheries or local marine life in the area, at this point, it is too early to tell, but the impact will be evaluated and appropriate actions taken if necessary.
