The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) announced back in the summer that they would be mounting an oil and cargo recovery operation on the Brigadier General M.G. Zalinksi. The CCG had been monitoring the vessel since its discovery in 2003.
The World War II United States Army Transport vessel ran aground during a storm and sank in 1946 in the Grenville Channel, about 100 km south of Prince Rupert. It is lodged upside down in 34 metres of water about 20 metres from shore.
WCMRC recently submitted and won a bid to provide spill response preparedness for the operation. There is an estimated 700 tonnes of Bunker C oil on board the vessel.
The CCG has adopted the ICS emergency management system and will act as the lead federal agency to oversee and manage the operation. It will be the on-scene commander for the duration of the operation and will direct the removal and the recovery of marine pollutants from the vessel and actively monitor the operation.
The operation will unfold in four phases:
- Securing the vessel;
- Removing the oil via a hot tapping process;
- Removing the cargo; and
- Post-Operation Monitoring.
Recovery operations are expected to begin late October. Read more about the Zalinski here.