Crews Working to Clean up Toxic Oil Spill in English Bay

CTV News reported that an emergency response team is working to clean up a bunker fuel spill that occurred in English Bay on Wednesday evening. The oil is believed to have been leaking from a bulk carrier ship and has now washed up on the shores of both English Bay beach and Kitsilano.

As quoted in the market news:

The City of Vancouver said the spill was of bunker fuel and warned on social media that it’s toxic and should not be touched. An emergency response team was called in Wednesday to deal with the spill on the bay that is surrounded by apartments, businesses and the city’s jewel, Stanley Park.

On Thursday, the spill was visible from the seawall, on the edge of the park. John Parker-Jervis of Port Metro Vancouver said the fuel appears to have come from a bulk carrier vessel that carries grain. The red and black Marathassa is anchored off the edge of the bay and surrounded by an orange oil-absorbing boom. Several ships with special equipment to clean up the fuel have surrounded the vessel.

The Vancouver Fire Department, which has its fire boat on the water, said on its Twitter feed that almost 800 meters of boom were put in the water and one tonne of fuel had been recovered so far.

Click here to read the full CTV News report.