Fraser River Sheen

Last updated on April 5, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management B.C. Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change as new information becomes available.

Incident Description

Incident Date	March 24, 2017
Name	Fraser River Sheen (DGIR 163752)
Source	Submerged Vessel
Nearest Community	Mission, B.C.
Spilled Content	Diesel Fuel
Who is involved?	B.C. Ministry of Environment, Emergency Management B.C., Transport Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Response Phase Detail

The responsible person or spiller is legally required to clean-up or manage the clean-up of a spill. In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the clean up, the Ministry of Environment 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. See More Information for other related 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).

Most Recent Update

March 25, 12:34 pm

The fuel sheen observed yesterday has dissipated significantly. The volume of the diesel spill has yet to be confirmed by Canadian Coast Guard or the operator of the vessel.

Canadian Coast Guard reported the submerged vessel to be 136 ft in length. Transport Canada (TC) utilized the National Aerial Surveillance (NAS) plane to provide overflights of the incident yesterday. No observable or recoverable product has been identified on the shoreline to the east or the west of the vessel at this time.

Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) deployed boom and absorbent pads yesterday. Fraser River Pile and Dredge (FRPD) is supporting the incident with marine cranes. Transport Canada is identifying vessel salvage options and will determine if the vessel poses a navigational hazard. Marine divers conducted their assessment of the vessel earlier this morning. No further pollution or sheening has been observed.

The District of Mission has been advised of the incident. Boom will continue to remain in place over the weekend. Canadian Coast Guard and WCMRC will be standing down.

No further updates are anticipated.

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Previous Updates

March 24, 2017 - 3:07 pm

A submerged vessel on the Fraser River is leaking fuel. An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) with B.C. Ministry of Environment attended the scene and completed an assessment from land. The EERO confirmed a sheen of fuel was present and is working with other agencies to identify the appropriate course of action. No known impacts to land were observed at that time.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is currently taking the lead on containing the ship source spill. They are working jointly with B.C. Ministry of Environment as needed. Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) has been contacted to aid in the spill cleanup. WCMRC is currently enroute to the incident site. The RCMP have been involved in the incident and are dealing with the responsible party.

B.C. Ministry of Environment will continue to monitor the situation.