• 3 min de lectura
• 3 min de lectura
10 years after an ATB went aground and spilled diesel fuel into the waters of the Inside Passage, British Columbia's Heiltsuk First Nation has reached a settlement agreement with Kirby Corporation to bring the matter to a partial close. The tribe continues its advocacy efforts at the national level and at the IMO.
In the early hours of October 13, 2016, the ATB tug Nathan E. Stewart / tank barge DBL 55 were under way southbound in the Inside Passage, near B.C.'s Athlone Island. The second mate fell asleep on watch and missed his turn, and the ATB went aground on Edge Reef, just offshore. The crew initially declined an offer of a tow to refloat the vessel and get on their way; the hull was subsequently breached and the tug partially sank, leaving it hanging from the ATB pins. About 26,000 gallons of diesel fuel and lube oil were released into the marine environment, polluting waters and shorelines that the local Heiltsuk First Nation uses for subsistence living. The wreck was refloated and removed 33 days later, but local residents say that the effects of the spill were long-lasting.
In 2018, the Heiltsuk filed a lawsuit against operator Kirby Corporation, the Canadian government and the B.C. provincial government in the B.C. Supreme Court. The suit accused Kirby of recklessness for having a single crewmember on watch during a night transit, and claimed damages for pollution of the first nation's clam beds.
Kirby agreed to settle the matter for $12 million, the Heiltsuk First Nation's council announced last week. The payment will be released after a court order is completed later this year. In addition, Kirby will send senior executives to attend a healing ceremony in Bella Bella, B.C., and will agree not to transit through the Heiltsuk's waters without seeking consent first.
The first nation's suit against the Canadian federal government remains active, and the Heiltsuk have called for settlement talks to close that case. It is also pursuing a separate claim through the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, Canada's compensation fund for spills.
The first nation has been active in pursuing policy goals that align with its interest in preserving food-producing ecosystems around Bella Bella, and beyond. In April, Heiltsuk leaders flew to London to meet with IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez and advocate for stricter antipollution rules. Their hope: to ensure that cultural losses are incorporated into all ship spill liability regimes globally, establishing compensation standards for indigenous groups in the event of spill damage to their way of life.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
