YANCO February 1, 1989 News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 44 pages 25¢ ACCIDENT AT VERSATILE SHIPYARDS s oll A PUNCTURED freighter’s fuel hter sp a tank discharged an estimated 250 gailons of bunker ‘C’ oil into Burrard Inict at North Vancouver’s Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. laste Monday night. But environment officials said Tuesday morning the spill had been contained quickly and minimal environmental damage done. Paul Ross, a project officer for Environmecat Canada’s En- vironmental Emergency Group, said the 35,000-ton New Zealand Caribbean coliided with the southeast corner of Versatile’s pier number one during docking pro- Environment project officer Paul Ross ...spill ‘‘was not huge.”’ cedures in high winds late Monday night. A small hole was subsequently torn in one of the ship’s fuel tanks and the bunker ‘C’ oil began spraying into the harbor. The Vancouver harbor master was alerted to the spill by Coast Guard crews, and environment of- ficials were called to the scene at By TIMOTHY RENSHAW approximately 11:20 p.m. By midnight the hole in the fuei tank had been plugged with a wooden wedge. An oil contain- ment boom was set up around the spill and remaining oil from the damaged fuel tank was pumped to another tank. The oil, Ross said, was contain- ed in an area approximately one metre by 40 metres. Response to the spill, he said, was good, and ihe high winds helped keep the oil between the ship and the shipyard’s dock and prevented ii from spreading into the harbor. Burnaby’s Sprayaway Marine Services Ltd. was subsequently called in to remove the oil, and cleaaup operations were continu- ing Tuesday morning. Ross said environment officials had not, as of Tuesday morning, determined if any of the oii had reached harbor shores. Versatile’s vice-president of marketing Quintin Watt said the New Zealand Caribbean was in the shipyard for inspection and overhaul work. The spill, he said, ‘‘was handled very efficiently.”’ Ross said bunker ‘C’ oil is thicker and heavier than diesel but less toxic to marine life. To press time Tuesday, there were no reports of dead birds or dead sea life caused by the spill. pheto Watetiotd CREWS CONTINUED working Tuesday morning to clean up an estimated 250 gallons of Sunker ‘C’ oil that leaked into Burrard Iniet from a freighter docking at Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. late Monday night. Environment officials said the oil was contained to 2 relatively small grea and no apparent damage wes done to the harbor envi: onment.