Dear Editor:
In September 1973, the container ship Sun Diamond sliced into the Erawan off Point Grey in broad daylight, ripping a 30-foot hole and rupturing one of the fuel tanks.
There were many inches of oil on Ambleside Beach and students were called out to clean up with hay bales. The accident was blamed on human error and miscommunication between the pilots and the costs from the accident bankrupted the new shipping line that owned the Sun Diamond.
English Bay has up to 20 anchorages for grain ships dropping the hook waiting to load grain. Sailing ships back in the 1800s used these same anchorages — to the delight of scuba divers who have found artifacts in the silt below. Freighters have been torn from these anchorages in strong winds and forced up on the beach of English Bay.
This is a busy port, and accidents happen, there will be spills. Many years ago the fuel barge off Stanley Park exploded and a weekend sailor smoking a cigarette lost his life while filling up his boat.
The explosion threw fuel drums into the air, and burned all day. The old fireboat which was used to put out the blaze was later sold to San Francisco, replaced by smaller, faster fire boats. Float planes have lost power while taking off, with one plane crashing into the waters off Stanley Park and the loss of all the passengers’ lives.
The revenue from this busy port helps drive our economy. There will always be incidents like the recent container fire at Centerm that require fast response times and adequate resources.
The Kitsilano Coast Guard station should not have been closed, but expanded with more oil spill equipment on hand and faster response capabilities.
Whether it is more oil tankers plying the coast, or a barge losing power during fog and crashing into the rail bridge at Second Narrows closing it for weeks, anyone thinking accidents will not continue to happen at this port is smoking too much of B.C.’s local crop.
Barry Miles
North Vancouver
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