Western Canada Marine Response has launched the Vigilant Sentinel, a new oil spill response vessel stationed in Prince Rupert.
The Vigilant Sentinel, which is named after Vigilant Island, was built locally by Broadwater Industries and was custom-designed to handle the unsheltered sea conditions of B.C.’s North Coast. The vessel will deliver high-speed first response and containment of oil spills in WCMRC’s Northern Region Zone of Responsibility, which stretches from the north end of Vancouver Island up to the Alaska-Canada border, including the Inside Passage geographic area and Haida Gwaii.
The Vigilant will likely be the first vessel on-scene when an oil spill occurs. Crews conduct an initial assessment of the spill site and can deploy boom to contain the spill and execute Geographic Response Strategies.
Equipped with Twin Yamaha 300HP 4-stroke fuel-injected outboard engines, the 38-foot long Vigilant Sentinel can travel up to 33 knots. It is equipped with 1,000 feet of general-purpose boom and five anchor kits, and can be crewed by a six-person team.
The Vigilant Sentinel is the sixth landing craft in WCMRC’s fleet and the latest vessel to be approved for marine spill response operations on Canada’s West Coast. WCMRC’s Northern Region has a fleet of 12 vessels to carry out its operations.