While the Transportation Safety Board is investigating how and why an oil tanker ran aground off Cape Breton on the weekend, concern is growing among local fishermen worried about a possible oil spill when the vessel is moved.
The Acra 1 ran aground near Little Pond, N.S. Sunday afternoon, the vessel was on route from Montreal to Mexico.
Crew members of the tanker were lifted to safety, after the small ships engines failed in rough seas.
“Even with full engines to be out in that kind of wind and those seas. It's like a cork in the water,” says local resident Don Merritt.
“For the fishermen, I would hope they're worried. When I was fishing I would have been worried about it,” says former fisherman Terry Tremlett.
The TSB says it will interview crew members, along with eye witnesseses and will also take in account the weather conditions on Sunday.
The vice president of the Seafarers International Union of Canada says the vessel was last used by the port of Montreal to fuel other ships in port and is not designed for long hauls.
The ship did not contain any cargo, but did have 16 tonnes of operating fuel onboard. Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc toured the site in the air on Monday and says so far there are no signs of pollution in the water.
“If somebody did something in this incident that was inappropriate or contrary to a particular regulation or policy, obviously they will be held accountable,” says LeBlanc. “The important thing is to get all the facts.”
The owner is now responsible for removing the tanker.
“The owner is expected to incur the costs both of Transport Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard and other government agencies in the operation,” says LeBlanc. “We have no reason to think, at this point, that the owner will not accept responsibility.”
The first attempt to remove the ship will take place early Tuesday morning at high tide.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore
