Removal of heavy fuel oil from sunken ship
Claytek was hired to separate heavy fuel oil recovered from a sunken ship from seawater
Location: West coast of Vancouver Island
The MV Schiedyk was a 147-metre cargo ship that sank in 1968 after striking a submerged ledge on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It sits in 120 metres of water. An oily sheen was reported on the water in December 2020, and the Canadian Coast Guard launched a cleanup operation.
Using the Canadian-registered Atlantic Condor vessel as the operations platform, Resolve Marine Group employed remotely operated vehicles to drill holes into the vessel’s four fuel tanks and secure a drainage valve with a hose attached for pumping operations. To remove the heavy fuel oil, hot water was injected into the tanks to liquefy the oil within. The oil and water mixture was then pumped to the surface through the hoses and onboard the Atlantic Condor, where the oil and water were separated by our team. The tanks were flushed until fuel was no longer detected.
The Canadian Coast Guard and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation were on the water to respond to any oil released, with members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and other partners and contractors monitoring the shorelines, sensitive areas, marine mammals and other wildlife during the operation.
The job resulted in the removal of approximately 60 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and diesel from the MV Schiedyk, a historic shipwreck that posed a significant threat to the marine environment in the area of Nootka Sound, British Columbia.
