17.06.2016
When two tugboats collided off the coast of Nanaimo in late May 2016, SEAMOR Marine Ltd. was quick on the scene to offer help.
The accident occurred the evening of May 24, 2016 in the south of Nanaimo between Duke Point and Gabriola Island. Two tug boats were running alongside one another, when one ship, the C.T. Titan, swerved and crashed into the smaller Albern tug. Two crew members were safely pulled from the water, but the Albern rolled and sank to the bottom of the Northumberland Channel.
The sunken tug suffered damage to its fuel tanks, slowly releasing fuel into the channel at the rate of five-foot diameter patches of oil every ten minutes. At 105 metres of depth, with substantial tidal impacts and moderate current in the channel, there were concerns that the oil spill could worsen.