Officials say they’re confident that a ship aground in the Northwest Passage will leave Arctic waters as experts work to refloat the vessel.
The MV Thamesborg, a freighter carrying industrial carbon blocks, ran aground in the Franklin Strait off Prince of Wales Island on Sept. 6.
In a briefing Monday, Royal Wagenborg, the Dutch company that owns the ship, shared a staged plan to salvage it.
Royal Wagenborg spokesperson David Solsbery said they don’t have a precise timeline on how long the plan will take but they expect it to be complete before winter.
“We as a company are confident that we will be refloating the Thamesberg, and it will be in port well before ice forms to the degree that we would not be able to transport it,” Solsbery said.
The first stage is lightening the vessel. Crew members are transferring about 4,000 tonnes of cargo to other vessels.
Once complete, the crew will attempt to refloat the Thamesborg.
Solsbery said that’s expected to happen this week.
Once refloated, the Thamesborg will be inspected and will travel to a port of refuge where the ship can be repaired.
Solsbery said the company hasn’t yet determined where that port will be.
The aim is for the Thamesborg to travel to the port independently, he added, but there is another ship available to help with towing or icebreaking if needed.
The plan is dependant on various conditions, including weather. Meteorologists with Environment and Climate Change Canada said in Monday’s briefing that it’s windy with a risk of flurries in the area around the ship Monday and that stormy conditions are expected again later in the week.
Sue McLennan, a director for the Canadian Coast Guard in the Arctic, said that all crew members — 15 plus an ice advisor — are doing well, that there are no injuries, and that morale is high.
She said they also haven’t noticed any pollution from the ship’s grounding.
“Our ongoing efforts remain focused on maintaining this status and minimizing the environmental impact of this incident,” McLennan said.
Under Canadian law, vessel owners are responsible for addressing cleanup, repairs and remediation costs, and the federal government provides oversight and verifies plans are appropriate.
Solsbery said that Wagenborg, along with the Transporation Safety Board of Canada, is in the process of investigating the cause of the ship’s grounding.
John Coyne, director for Nunavut Emergency Management, said that his agency is maintaining contact with nearby communities and that he’s not aware of local governments raising any concerns.