The CBC has reported on an accident that has leaked tons of fuel into the St. Lawrence River in Canada. The vessel, "Chaulk Determination," reportedly left behind a mess for crews to take care of, and as of Saturday the government was unsure of when the cleanup was expected to be completed. While the owners of the tugboat, CAI Marine Inc., were originally asked to pay for damages, the results are estimated to be too high for them to handle on their own.
The local Coast Guard has been laboring to pump the fuel out of the Trois-Rivières port in Quebec, where the tugboat sank after repeated warnings about its condition. Out of 22 tons of fuel that were onboard at the time it submerged, nine have been cleared from the water and accounted for so far.
A representative from the Guard, Michel Plamondon, told the source about the current response plan and the uncertainties surrounding it.
"The priority is really to conduct oil containment and recovery operations," he said. "We have no clue to how long it'll take to pick everything up."
CAI Marine is based in Moncton, New Brunswick, and the official website of the Canadian Transportation Agency says the boat weighed more than 565 tons and worked in an ocean-going capacity, even though it mainly served the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes regions.
Assigning the brunt of the insurance costs to the appropriate parties involved will make even a messy cleanup operation easier to organize and implement. Leaks that have been the result of much negligence have to be identified as longstanding risks, and a boat insurance company can help owners and operators do that by advising on proper coverage packages.