Irving Whale is a Canadian barge that sank off the north coast of Prince Edward Island, while en route from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Bathurst, New Brunswick, with a cargo of Bunker C oil in a rich fishing area.
[5] The federal government of Canada lost a lawsuit through which an attempt was made to recoup the $42 million for the recovery of the Irving Whale.
In 2000, the federal government reached a $5 million out-of-court settlement with JDI, which was described as the "worst precedent" of the "Polluter Pays Principle".
[Notes 1] The ATL 2701/Atlantic Sea Lion "has a "darkly ironic cargo of bad memories from one of Canada's most notorious nautical disasters."
Irving Ltd. She delivered fuel oil such as Bunker C to major industrial customers such as electrical generating stations and pulp and paper mills, as well as top-deck general cargo.
[citation needed] In stormy weather, on 7 September 1970, Irving Whale, loaded with Bunker C oil for the Irving Oil Company and carrying PCBs for its heating system, sank in approximately 67 m (220 ft) of water 60 km (32 nmi) northeast of North Cape, Prince Edward Island and 100 km (54 nmi) southwest of Cap du Sud-Ouest, Magdalen Islands.
[2][6] In a 1996 CBC report, as she remained at the bottom of the ocean, it called Irving Whale "a pollution timebomb",[6] located in a "very rich fishing area"-an "ecological system" that stretched far into the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
In December 2007 ATL 2701 was contracted to haul a cargo of steel pipes through the St. Lawrence Seaway into Lake Ontario destined for the Portlands Energy Centre project in Toronto Harbour.
Irving Whale was carrying a cargo of 4,270 t (4,200 long tons) or approximately 4,351,800 L (1,149,600 US gal) of Bunker C, also known as #6 fuel oil, destined for the Consolidated-Bathurst Inc. pulp mill in Bathurst, New Brunswick.
[8] Witnesses stated that the barge, which was being towed was unmanned, and it was "riding low in the water under the weight of 4,297 tons 4,773,967 litres of Bunker C fuel oil.
The crew of Irving Maple provided continuous radio updates to the Canadian Coast Guard as they observed the barge founder over the next 3 hours.
[8] Since Irving Whale sank stern first following progressive flooding over a three-hour period, the barge ended up settling in an upright position.
[citation needed] For 2 days following the sinking, bunker C fuel oil leaked from Irving Whale, covering an area of approximately 400 km2 (120 sq nmi).
[citation needed] An unknown amount of bunker C floated into the Atlantic Ocean through the Cabot Strait and some washed ashore on Prince Edward Island as well.
Throughout the 26-year period it was submerged in the salt waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the thickness of the barge's steel hull was reduced by approximately 5 mm (0.20 in) as a result of corrosion.
[11] "[T]he principle of 'polluter pays' was in vogue...although the precise timing of the refloating may have been political, the fact remains that the Irving Whale would have broken up, probably sooner, rather than later, she would corrode and break up, releasing well over 3,000 [tonnes] of oil to the great prejudice of the marine habitat, the shoreline, and those dependent upon the sea and shore.
"[11] Transport Canada conducted detailed inspections of the Irving Whale wreck in 1989 and 1990 which confirmed that the barge was leaking approximately 80 L (21 US gal) of bunker C per day.
In September 1990 the Public Review Panel on Tanker Safety and Marine Response Capability noted the thinning of the barge's hull and the potential for a catastrophic release of the remaining cargo of bunker C fuel oil.
[citation needed] In 1994 the Government of Canada committed to raising Irving Whale and cleaning the wreck site from contamination.
[2] In a 19 March 1975 CBC As it Happens interview, five years after the sinking, concerns were raised about an ecological catastrophe on PEI shores with a million gallons of Bunker C still in the hold of the Whale.
A later investigation on corporations colluding in a number tenders involving twenty defendants, resulted in the Supreme Court Case R v Canadian Dredge & Dock Co.
In June 1995, Donjon McAllister Joint Venture of New Jersey won the contract to lift Irving Whale with a tendered price of $12.1 million.
The defendants centred their defence on whether the action by the government was time barred and whether legislation created after the sinking of Irving Whale could be applied retroactively.
[3] Environment Canada said in February 1999, that testing showed that there were still approximately "150 kilograms of PCBs" on the ocean floor where the Whale had sunk.
This represents approximately 1% of the amount of PCBs in the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence.While "neither human nor marine life" was "threatened", "commercial fishing in the immediate area" was "prohibited.
"[4] The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced in April 1999 that, based on a third party report and consultation with the "crab fishing industry", they would take a "precautionary approach in addressing the status of the fishing exclusion zone" and keep the existing closure in place while continuing long-term monitoring of the site contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).