A Long Road to Recovery: Decades-Old Oil Spill from WWII Shipwreck Prompts Cleanup Efforts by CCG
The fate of the USAT Brigadier General MG Zalinski, a US Army transport ship, was sealed the day she allied into Pitt Island rocks in Grenville Channel, and sank. On September 26, 1946, during the raging World War II, Zalinski was enroute to Alaska from Seattle to deliver military supplies, including 230-kg bombs, ammunition, some 700 tonnes of bunker oil, etc, when a storm shook her spirit and the vessel sank in about 20 minutes, some 88.5 kms south of Prince Rupert, Canada.
While the crew of 48 members was rescued with the help of a tug boat Sally N and the passenger steamer SS Catala, the sinking caused Zalinski's heavy fuel oil to go down with it and contaminate the ocean.
The old cacophony of the 1946 shipwreck
Although history buried the incident, its remnant tragic tale resurrected decades later when in 2003, almost 57 years after the accident, an oil slick, along with other pollution indications, was discovered near Lowe Inlet. After numerous investigations and studies, all signs pointed toward the old wreck, which still contained arms.
New concerns kept emerging as the vessel continued to spill oil in the coming years. It was then, in 2013, that the Canadian government announced a much-needed clean up operation in the form of a "significant environmental protection operation". After 35 tons of fuel oil was removed, the operation concluded and the site was declared safe and oil-free.
What is being done at the moment?
However, something was surely amiss as the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has announced a Canadian dollar 4.9 million contract reward to Resolve Marine in order to remove oil from the very shipwreck. Reportedly, about 27,000 litres of oil remain aboard the age-old ship as its fuel tanks have collapsed. Even though only a small amount of oil is surging, the operation is preventative and aims at the long-term safety of marine life around the area.
The old cacophony can still be heard 112 feet into the Inside Passage, for which work by CCG will kickstart cleanup operations from mid October, 2024.
