Toxic Bunker Fuel Washing Up on Kits Beach Similar to Diluted Bitumen, Calls Into Question Oil Spill Response

Oil tanker in English Bay

On Thursday toxic oil was washing up on the shores of Kitsilano Beach and English Bay in Vancouver as cleanup crews tried to contain a sizeable bunker fuel spill surrounding a bulk carrier.

Specific details about how the spill occurred are murky so far. According to MarineTraffic, a website that monitors seagoing shipping, a Panamax bulk carrier named the Marathassa arrived in the Port of Metro Vancouver on April 6th after a 2.5 week journey from South Korea. Sometime after 5 p.m. yesterday, a sheen of oil was observed by boaters around the ship and spill cleanup was initiated. (Read more…)

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