In 1946, the M.G. Zalinski sank in Grenville Channel after running ground in heavy weather. The location of the sunken U.S. Army ship was lost until 2003, when mariners spotted bunker C in the ocean and divers confirmed the vessel’s location about 100 nautical miles south of Prince Rupert. In 2013, the Canadian government launched a major effort to recover the ship’s fuel.
WCMRC brought up equipment and all its personnel to work on a rotational basis as part of the recovery team. For the duration of the three-month operation, WCMRC’s team was stationed on three large on-scene floating camps as well as in the Incident Command Post in Prince Rupert. The operation involved close collaboration between WCMRC, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Gitga’at Nation, on whose territory the spill occurred. WCMRC’s Fisherman Oil Spill Emergency Team, as well as wildlife advisors and shoreline assessment teams, were also involved.