Oil Spills Finally Controlled
Canadian Angling.com: While today’s news that the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has finally been capped, Canada has had its own oil spill to be concerned about on the St. Lawrence River. This is the first ever oil spill on the St. Lawrence Spillway and is expected to be cleaned up in 1 week if conditions remain the same. Unfortunately the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will require many years of cleaning and much more resources to repair the damage to the environment and the people’s lives it has affected. We actually wonder if BP will actually pay for all the damage. It is their responsibility, not the taxpayer.
Canada Steamship Lines (owner of the ship that leaked) official Jean-Francois LeBrun stated that the company is committed to paying for the clean up saying “We’re simply saying, Go, go, go, clean it up 100 per cent,”
During the next week, boats will be equipped with special filters to the shore where it will be collected and disposed of. Luckily most of the oil was blown to shore by waves and wind.
“The wind helped (on Tuesday), pushing fuel into specific areas,” said Jack Meloche, operations manager for the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. Luckily most of the oil was confined to the north side of the canal and behind a boom on the south side. 30 employees will work on the cleanup.
On Monday night, the M/V Richelieu (a cargo ship), was carrying wheat and was moving towards the Port of Montreal to unload. While on the trip, strong winds caused a problem near St. Catherine. The winds caused the ship to roll over its anchor and it punctured its reserve oil tank, leaking fuel into the canal. The amount of fuel leaked is estimated at 20 tons. Because of the leak in the canal, other ships have not been able to use the canal and there is presently 18 waiting to go through. About 10 ships use the canal daily. One of the issues is that ships passing through the canal may disturb the oil and cause more problems. The Coast Guard and Transport Ministry will determine when it is safe to re-open the seaway.
Luckily there have been no issues with regards to water drinking water and there has been no damage to birds or wildlife. However Sonia Laforest from Environment Canada said that residents should not fish along the St. Catherine shoreline until the cleanup is complete.
The ship will have a steel plate welded over the 10-meter gash and is expected to sail to Quebec City, unload its cargo and have complete repairs.
