Fuel tanker runs aground in Northwest Passage but is not leaking

Fuel tanker runs aground in Arctic; no leak

TORONTO — A fuel tanker carrying supplies for Arctic communities has run aground in the Northwest Passage but no diesel is leaking, the Canadian Coast Guard said Thursday.

Larry Trigatti, the Canadian Coast Guard’s superintendent of environmental response in the central and Arctic region, said the vessel isn’t leaking and there is no reported damage.

“It has been verified. There is no leaking product and no reported damage but it is aground,” Trigatti said.

Trigatti said the ship is stuck but it’s not taking on any water.

He said the coast guard ship Henry Larsen is nearby. The tanker, which is owned by Woodward’s Oil, was resupplying northern Inuit communities. It ran aground southwest of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

A cruise ship exploring the Northwest Passage in the Arctic also ran aground last week when it hit a rock that wasn’t on the map. The Clipper Adventurer remains stranded but the passengers were been transferred off the boat.

Trigatti said the ship’s owner is working on a salvage plan.

There is increased interest in the Northwest Passage because melting ice could make it a regular Atlantic-Pacific shipping lane. Canada says it owns the passage. The U.S. and others say it’s international territory.