Monday, October 17, 2016

Transportation Safety Board of Canada to launch investigation into Nathan E. Stewart incident



The circumstances surrounding the grounding of a fuel barge and the sinking of the tug Nathan E. Stewart will make up part of an investigation into the incident by Transportation Board of Canada.

In an announcement released Monday, the Independent Agency that investigates, marine, pipeline, railway and aviation occurrences outlined its plans to examine the incident which took place in Seaforth Channel near Bella Bella on the Central Coast.

The short advisory notes that members of the TSB will be gathering information and conducting interviews with the crew of the vessel as it continues to assess the occurrence.

While the TSB begins its work of understanding the chain of events that led to the grounding incident and subsequent sinking. Those in place around Bella Bella continue their work in addressing the fuel spill from the now submerged tug.

The latest update from incident response officials on the scene from this morning, provided a glimpse at the scope of the work taking place and the logistics involved in combining all the assets in place on the water and ashore.

The Transportation Board of Canada is now investigating the
marine incident of Thursday near Bella Bella which saw the
tug Nathan E. Stewart sink in Seaforth Channel

In addition to the efforts at the scene of the incident, Shoreline clean up crews are also surveying the immediate area and addressing any issues that have been discovered. Those crews are made up of members of the incidence response party, along with members of the Heiltsuk First Nation and Provincial representatives.

The most recent statement from the scene also notes that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has put in  place a Fisheries closure for the area as of last Friday.

More background on the sinking of the tug and the current clean up operations can be found from our blog item of last week.

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