By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
“Refloating and cleanup operations for the submerged fishing vessel in Stokes Bay, Ontario were successfully completed as of September 15, 2024”, reports the Canadian Coast Guard.
An OPP Press release stated ”On September 5, 2024, at 10:16 a.m., the Grey Bruce OPP responded to a report of a fishing boat that sank off Government Dock Road in Northern Bruce Peninsula. With the assistance of the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Natural Resources all environmental contaminants were contained. The vessel was last observed floating in the dock on September 4, 2024, at 7:30 a.m.”
Local residents/seasonals expressed their concern about the resulting oil spill at the Government Dock in Stokes Bay and paid keen interest to the clean-up efforts.
The Communications Department of the Canadian Coast Guard issued the following update ”During the clean up and decontamination process, approximately 5,500 litres of oily water was recovered from the vessel. Canadian Coast Guard personnel also removed pollutants from inside the containment boom with the use of sorbent pads and equipment, to mitigate environmental impact. Residual pollutants remaining in the boom dissipated naturally.
The Canadian Coast Guard’s responsibility when it comes to addressing the threat posed by wrecked, abandoned and hazardous vessels is to ensure the vessel is removed safely from the environment. In this case, refloating and cleanup operations are now complete and the incident is considered closed.”
