Still no timeline to remove grounded cargo ship near Lark Harbour

It's sustainability over speed for the MSC Baltic III cargo ship salvage mission. 

Nearly a month since the vessel ran aground near Lark Harbour, crews are still working to remove fuel and cargo as the ship sits on the sea floor. 

"Speed is not the primary goal here. Minimizing environmental impact is the primary goal," said Bruce English, the Canadian Coast Guard's senior response officer for marine environmental and hazards, on Friday.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada held a technical briefing Friday morning. They were joined by officials from the coast guard, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Transport Canada.

Tim Kerr of Transport Canada said once pollutants are removed, crews can begin planning the potential refloating of the vessel.

"At this point we can't say with any certainty, you know, when or whether the vessel will be refloated," said Kerr.

When asked by reporters how much the recovery operation will cost, English said that's not a point of focus right now.

"It is hard to determine the time frame at this point, but for an operation this size and scale, you can imagine it will be lengthy," he said.

WATCH | Weeks later and experts are still working to offload the stranded ship:

The Baltic III cannot be refloated, crews focused on removing fuel and hazardous cargo

2 days ago

Duration 1:42

Salvage crews working on the MSC Baltic III are facing a daunting task: to safely remove the fuel and cargo from the grounded vessel near Lark Harbour. As of Friday morning, fuel had not yet leaked but the Canadian Coast Guard the process will be difficult.

English says Canada follows the "polluter pays" principle, which means the vessel's owners will have to foot the bill related to the clean up and address hazards posed by their problem vessel.

The company that owns the ship, the Mediterranean Shipping Company, hired TNT Salvage and the Eastern Canada Response Corporation to assess damage and clean up the mess. 

The cargo aboard the ship contains materials classified as dangerous goods, including fabrics, food products, metals and polymeric beads. There is no immediate threat to human health, but they could cause environmental damage.

The ship's cranes still work and may aid the removal of cargo, and an approval to fix a road leading to the area of the ship is forthcoming, English said.

Over 1,700 metric tonnes of fuel and marine gas remains on board. 

The emergency and drone restriction zone in Cedar Cove has been reduced to one nautical mile, but the public is still asked to respect the boundary.

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