A tanker that ran aground off the coast of Cape Breton on Sunday was apparently not designed to handle long sea voyages.
It is unknown as of this time if the vessel’s new owner had acquired insurance for the vehicle.
Learn more about vessel insurance here.
Seafarers’ International Union of Canada president James Given explained to
CBC News on Monday that the ship, Arca 1, was very small and used only for harbor bunkering—it was not designed for extended voyages on the ocean.
“I was shocked when I saw it actually had run aground on the coast because I couldn’t figure out what it was doing on the coast,” Given said. “It’s not a ship that should be there.”
“I recall the vessel is meant — was, and is still meant — for inland waters, which usually doesn’t allow for going outside [them],” said Patrice Caron, vice-president of the union, who had actually sailed on the ship in the early 1990s. “Like sending this vessel to sea was kind of suicidal to me.”
Caron also added that the ship should not have left Montreal without an escort, pointing out that it was not constructed to withstand inclement weather at sea.
Yahoo News reported that the Arca 1 was last used in the Port of Montreal to ferry bunker fuel or diesel to other ships anchored in the port. Before that, it ran fuel to Sarnia through the Great Lakes.
The ship was recently decommissioned and sold to a new owner in the Dominican Republic. It was on its way to Mexico when it purportedly sailed into a gale despite being too underpowered to do so. Engine failure soon set in, leading to the ship running aground and its crew sending for help.
“If we’re lucky, [the new owner] has paid his insurance. And I’d be wondering if he’s put up a bond so that the Canadian taxpayers don’t have to clean up this mess,” Given said.
Six people were rescued from the stranded ship via airlift. Given confirmed that the crew, while composed of Canadians and Americans, were not members of the union.
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Monday arrived on scene to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Given offered some advice to the investigators:
“Find out why a 1963 ship — underpowered — was sailing into a gale. Find that one out first. And then for the next one that tries it, say: ‘No, you can’t do it.’“
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