$24 million for the cost of environmental cleanup
After the Canadian Coast Guard and the federal government washed their hands of responsibility for a beat-up 230-metre bulk carrier grounded off the coast of Cape Breton, the Nova Scotia government issued an order to the Russian captain of the tug boat that lost the ship to come and get it.
The MV Miner has been stranded off the coast of Scaterie Island since late September, when high winds caused it to break free from The Hellas, the Russian tugboat that was dragging the ship to Turkey for scrap.
The province released The Hellas from ship arrest Thursday morning on a security of $1,050,000, the value of the ship.
But it also slapped the ship’s owners, Pellas Shipping Company, with a removal order under the Crown Lands Act, and is planning to issue the same order to Arivina Navigation, the company that owns the MV Miner.
Both companies must now provide the province with a detailed removal plan.
What’s more, the province is suing the owners of The Hellas for upwards of $24 million for the cost of environmental cleanup, and possibly the cost of removal, should they refuse to comply with the removal order.
But that doesn’t mean the province is giving up its push to make the feds get rid of the boat. The province is “pursuing all avenues,” said spokeswoman Karen White
Premier Darrell Dexter has called the feds to take responsibility for the vessel since they are the ones who issued the permits that got it there.
But Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield said on Wednesday his department has done its part by ensuring the waters around the carrier aren’t polluted.
Federal Transport Minister Denis Lebel said he’d fulfilled his duties when his department assured the ship wouldn’t hinder navigation.
The coast guard says its work was completed after removing more than 10,000 litres of marine diesel oil, lubricants and oily waste water from the vessel last week, and doing a shoreline assessment that turned up no nearby pollution from the ship.
Source: Toronto Sun
