Diesel Spill South of Zeballos

Disclaimer:

• Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)
• Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change

Incident description

Incident Date	December 14, 2024
Name	DGIR: 244987
Source	Transfer Operation
Nearest Community	Zeballos, B.C.
Spilled Content	Diesel
Who is involved	Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV), Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), the Village of Zeballos, the Village of Tahsis, Strathcona Regional District, Mount Waddington Regional District, Ehattesaht First Nation, Nuchatlaht First Nation and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.

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Response phase details

The responsible person or spiller is legally required to cleanup or manage the cleanup of a spill.

In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the cleanup, the Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV) may assume the role. 

The updates below reflect the ministry’s oversight of the spillers’ actions. Details describe the spill response phase only and not the complete lifecycle of the spill. Visit the 'More information' page for other reports. 

Updates are in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top.

Industry-specific language may be explained in the Glossary of Terms (PDF, 106KB).

Most recent updates

December 16

On December 16th, the Incident Command Post (ICP) was established in Zeballos at the Ehattesaht First Nation Band Office.

In addition to Strategic, the Responsible Party (RP) hired a contractor to assist with coordination in the ICP.

Multiple response organizations and governments are working together at the ICP under the concept of Unified Command. (Please see a definition of Unified Command below).

The organizations and governments who established Unified Command are Greig Seafood (RP), the Province (represented by the Ministry of Environment and Parks), the federal government (represented by Environment and Climate Change Canada), Ehattesaht First Nation, Nuchatlaht First Nation, and Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation.

Crews from Greig Seafood were on the water today conducting assessments and attempting mitigative measures. No recoverable fuel was reported.

Canadian Coast Guard reported they dispatched a patrol vessel this morning to the area and reported no sightings of fuel.

Further updates will be made when more information is available.

December 15

The Responsible Person (spiller) has been identified as Greig Seafood and have retained Strategic Natural Resource Consultants (Strategic) as their Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP).

The cause of the spill appears to be human error during fuel transfer. The spilled content is approximately between 7000 and 8000 litres.

Greig Seafood and Strategic reported that they were on the water to monitor and track the spill and have placed absorbent boom around the spill site. Strategic reported that they were unable to locate recoverable diesel on the water.

The Province deployed response staff today to the incident site. Provincial staff were able to conduct on water and aerial surveillance with Greig Seafood and First Nations representatives.

From those surveillances, visible sheen has been identified North and West towards Centre Island from the spill site. There is also smaller patches of observable sheen South and East towards Steamer Point.

The Province also hosted a coordination call with Greig Seafood, Strategic, Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), representatives from the Villages of Zeballos and Tahsis, and Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations. An Incident Command Post will be stood up to coordinate response actions.

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) sent out an advisory through CCG’s Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) communication system to local mariners to advise of the diesel spill and to avoid the area.

The Ehattesaht First Nation issued a clam harvesting alert and closure in the Zeballos Inlet.

Further updates will be made when more information is available.

December 14

On December 14th, the Environmental Emergency Branch (EEB) received a report of a marine spill at a fish farm near Zeballos.

It appears that the spill was a result of a fuel transfer operation on a floating concrete platform. Approximately 7,500 litres of diesel spilled.

The Responsible Person (spiller) has retained a Qualified Environmental Professional to respond.

EEB held a coordination call in the afternoon on December 14th.

EEB is in the process of deploying response staff to the incident.

Further updates will be made when more information is available.

Definitions

Unified Command
Unified Command provides a structure between multiple organizations with overlapping jurisdictions or responsibilities to enhance response effectiveness by establishing shared decision-making and collaboration towards a common set of objectives.