Polluter's Negligence Delayed Response Efforts for English Bay Oil Spill

Identifying the source of the English Bay oil spill was made more complicated than it should have been because the polluter denied the fact that the vessel was leaking.

#vancouver fire boats deployed by VF&RS to assist with spill operations in English Bay. @VancouverPD and @CCG_GCC pic.twitter.com/R3AtU8W2cn

— Vancouver Fire (@VanFireRescue) April 9, 2015

On Friday, author John Butler released his findings on the independent M/V Marathassa fuel spill review.

Among several other key findings, Butler discovered that the denial that Marathassa was leaking fuel was a key factor complicating the identification of the source of the spill. Moreover, this denial caused initial delay in recognizing the severity of the spill.

Some #pics of the oil sheen and nasty stuff out in the water today via @BenWest #oilspill #VanFuelSpill pic.twitter.com/wFUXu72thB

— Tanker Free BC (@TankerFreeBC) April 9, 2015

However, the report also found that the Coast Guard took the appropriate measures when responding to the spill.

“The operational response proceeded remarkably well, as the source had been located and controlled with boom and the on water clean-up and recovery operation was proceeding as expected,” read the review.

At least 30 birds oiled by #VancouverOilSpill in BC Canada: http://t.co/n0e5bJMFyq pic.twitter.com/KYkTNzW98n

— BirdRescue.org (@IntBirdRescue) April 16, 2015

Although following protocol correctly, the review offers 25 recommendations as to how the Coast Guard can improve their response to such incidents in the future.

These recommendations include ensuring that the Coast Guard has adequate staff, developing simplified quick reference tools, and developing a rapidly deployable communications and IT system.

"Job one in a spill is to get the oil contained and collected as soon as possible. Even amid uncertainty about the source of the spill, we skimmed and then boomed the suspected vessel anyway, and began the process of recovering the spilled fuel. So job one was well done. In other areas, there is room for improvement. This is why we commissioned this review - to get to the bottom of what didn't go as well as it should have and incorporate those lessons into our practices. I can assure you we take this very seriously, recognize how significant this was for Vancouverites, and that our actions to incorporate lessons learned are already well underway,” said Jody Thomas, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard.

“The 25 recommendations outlined in this report clearly articulate the need for the Coast Guard to improve spill response capabilities, and also serves as a roadmap towards ensuring that happens. The Province is committed to working with all of our partners to see the recommendations are acted upon. Our ultimate goal continues to be a world-class marine spill regime from the federal government,” added Environment Minister Mary Polak.

It was on April 8th, 2015, that the Marathassa oil spill was confirmed. By April 9th, an estimated 2,800 litres of oil was spilled into English Bay and was making its way toward the shore.

Working late into the evening, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard Jody Thomas and crew managed to contain the spill by 80 per cent within 36 hours.