B.C. Completes Salvage Operation to Remove Sunken Fishing Vessel
The government of British Columbia has completed cleanup and removal of a sunken fishing vessel that went down near Bella Bella last month.
In the early hours of February 19, the fishing vessel Western Gambler began taking on water, and the crew attempted to make an emergency transit to the small port of Shearwater for a haulout and repair. During this urgent transit, she went aground at Napier Point, just south of Bella Bella. The vessel quickly took on a list, and the Canadian Coast Guard deployed a fast rescue craft to respond. The CCG officers pulled all four fishermen aboard to safety.
The same day, Western Gambler capsized, resulting in minor sheening on the water. The Heiltsuk First Nation's marine response team deployed a containment boom around the wreck, as well as additional booms to protect a nearby hatchery. The vessel had an estimated 7,500 liters of fuel on board, according to the Heiltsuk Nation.
The CCG, the Heiltsuk government and BC's Environmental Emergency Branch set up a unified command for the response, and a commercial salvor was selected to perform pollution abatement and wreck removal.
Heiltsuk Marine Emergency Response Team responded and deployed containment boom around the vessel. They also deployed deflection boom along the shorelines and to protect the McLoughlin Bay hatchery.
A Unified Command has been established to oversee the incident and ensure an appropriate response.
On site operations to begin the salvage started on February 26, and crews were able to quickly rig the vessel and parbuckle it upright. Severe weather moved in during the operation, so the vessel was secured to the side of the barge and repositioned to a nearby safe harbor to continue dewatering. No sheening or pollution were observed during these evolutions.
After the wreck was safely aboard the barge, the team returned to the site of the grounding to begin dive operations for removing any remaining debris. That work wrapped up on February 27, and the barge got under way for mainland BC to deliver the wreckage.