Question Period Note: Environmental Response – BLIGH ISLAND SHIPWRECK

• The safety of mariners and the protection of the marine environment are the top priorities for the Canadian Coast Guard.
• The Bligh Island Shipwreck has been assessed as a source of pollution and the Coast Guard is taking action to mitigate the impacts.
• The Coast Guard is working expeditiously to address the continuing threat of pollution from this vessel and will ensure an appropriate response to this incident.

• In September 2020, the Canadian Coast Guard received reports of extensive sheening throughout the Zuciarte Channel on the West Coast of Bligh Island. With no known or reported source of pollution it was believed to be bilge discharge originating from transiting vessels.
• Calls of oil pollution in the area continued to be reported, which led the Coast Guard to investigate other possible sources of pollution. Several overflights were conducted, which observed oil pollution on the water near the West Coast of Bligh Island.
• Further investigation identified the source of the pollution as the wreck of the Motor Vessel (M/V) Schiedyk, which sank on January 3, 1968. The vessel had just left Hay River, British Columbia, and was carrying approximately 1000 tons of grain and pulp when it ran aground near Bligh Island. The vessel is believed to have been carrying up to 700 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil.
• Between December 4 and 6, 2020, there was an increase in the volume of pollution observed on the water near Bligh Island, leading Coast Guard to take immediate action to address the continuing threat of pollution from this sunken vessel.
• On December 9, 2020, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) confirmed that the M/V Schiedyk is the source of the pollution. ROV operations report that the product is seeping from more than one location and that vessel is resting in 350–400 feet of water.
• The sunken vessel is adjacent to a Marine Protected Area and Marine Provincial Park, and there are several fish farms nearby.
• Coast Guard response teams and equipment have been deployed to the site. Coast Guard has contracted the Response Organization “West Coast Marine Response Corporation” (WCMRC) to deploy to the area and contain and recover the pollutants leaking from the vessel.
• Recovery operations onsite are removing contaminants from the water’s surface to address the upwelling of Heavy Fuel Oil from the wreck.
• Coast Guard has established a virtual Incident Command Structure to effect the response. This structure includes a Unified Command comprised of Canadian Coast Guard, BC Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change Strategy, and the Mowachat Muchalaht First Nation.
• On January 5, 2021, the bid process was completed and a contract was awarded for tug and barge services. In the coming days and weeks, Requests for Proposals (RFP) will be posted for spill response support and an underwater technical assessment.
• The Coast Guard will target the permanent elimination of the pollution threat posed by the vessel.

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