A Nanaimo-based coordinator with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation is raising concerns about potential oil spills after a coal carrier ran aground off the coast of Prince Rupert last night.
Brian Falconer, Raincoast’s Marine Operations Program Coordinator, says it would have been a major disaster if it was an oil tanker. The Amakusa Island hit bottom and ruptured three of its ballast tanks.
Falconer says it’s a perfect example of why it’s impossible to eliminate the risk of a spill.
Falconer says the coal carrier hit bottom in an area where LNG tankers would be traveling through, if an LNG plant proposed for Prince Rupert gets the green light. He says a major spill is inevitable if oil and LNG tankers are allowed to sail off BC’s north coast.
