Cape Rouge sinking on LaHave River in Bridgewater

Emergency crews scrambled to the Bridgewater wharf on Monday afternoon after a fishing vessel, ordinarily tied up to the wharf, began sinking into the LaHave River.

At approximately 2 p.m., someone noticed the Cape Rouge was sinking and called the authorities. Crews from the Canadian Coast Guard and the local fire department erected booms around the ship to contain any spilled oil.

The Cape Rouge has approximately 3,785 litres of diesel oil and 150 litres of lube oil on board, according to a spokesman with the coast guard.

Keith Laidlaw, senior response officer for the Canadian Coast Guard, said so far the leakage is minimal. 

"We haven't seen a great deal of pollution from the vessel at this point," he said. 

Michael Nauss, the Bridgewater fire chief, said crews were keeping a close eye on it. 

"There was some small five gallon buckets on the back of the deck that did spill over. We were able to contain that by putting booms around the boat right away," he said.  

The owner of the boat has contacted a salvage company to deal with the sinking. It's not known what caused the ship to sink.

The Cape Rouge is tied up in about 5.5 metres of water, so even if it sinks completely it will likely be visible. 

The vessel was used on the television show Haven. Eric Balfour, who plays the character who owns the boat on the show, tweeted: "Time for a new boat."