An 85-foot fishing boat capsized Tuesday morning at the Shelter Island Marina near the foot of Graybar Road in East Richmond, and released either diesel fuel or engine oil into the Fraser River.
Dan Bate, spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard, said the fish boat Western Crusader had just recently been moved to the Lower Mainland from Campbell River, and its fuel tanks were empty.
The sheen that was seen flowing down the Fraser River is believed to be remnants from the engine room and the bilge.
Bate classified this incident as a “minor spill” and said the owner is making arrangements to bring in a barge and a crane to pluck the ship out of the water.
Port Metro Vancouver spokesperson John Parker-Jervis said the ship capsized in relatively shallow water, and a Port Metro Vancouver patrol boat, as well as a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft, responded to the scene shortly before 8 a.m.
There were no injuries, and nobody was aboard the vessel at the time it capsized.
Parker-Jervis said the boat was about to be lifted out of the water by the marina’s travel lift.
The cause of the capsizing remains under investigation.
Absorbent pads were deployed around the ship, and a containment boom was placed around it to prevent more contaminants from leaking out of the vessel.
The Canadian Coast Guard is responsible for clean up, but Parker-Jervis said the light sheen that was seen in the water was deemed to either be diesel fuel or engine oil, and not recoverable.