Dear Editor,
Re: Oil response “a bloody disgrace,” Burnaby NOW, April 29.
In her article reporter Janaya Fuller-Evans highlights concerns of Burnaby city councillor Paul McDonell. I’d like to provide some important context to Canadian Coast Guard’s response to the M/V Marathassa Spill.
In responding to a mystery spill, determining the source and the pollutant is necessary to address the incident directly without wasting time or equipment. Not mentioned at all was the fact the vessel was not aware of a spill throughout the night, and investigations were ongoing at the same time that the crew – six people in two boats – worked through the night to skim the pollution from the water’s surface and contain the leak by placing a boom around the Marathassa. Also not mentioned was the fact that they managed to capture 80 per cent of the leaked oil within 36 hours, and virtually all of the oil over the next few days.
By any measure, this was an extraordinary achievement with a very good outcome. We targeted the right ship, with the right equipment, the right team, and got the right result. Still, we understand that when there is an oil leak, there is no amount of time that seems fast enough for the cleanup. Clearly, there is lots of space for different assessments of this event and we welcome the discussion over how things can be improved.
For our part, we are proud of the service the Canadian Coast Guard and its partners were able to provide to Vancouver that night and in the days since. We believe that it should help the people of Vancouver sleep at night knowing that their great port, and the billions of dollars and thousands of jobs it generates for Vancouver and the entire country, is safe; and that there will be people working through the day and night, if need be, to make sure it stays so.
Jody Thomas, commissioner, Canadian Coast Guard
