New West councillor wants review of Samson V oil spill

After an oil spill last month at the Samson V Museum, New West Progressives Coun. Paul Minhas has put forward a notice of motion to have the incident looked into. As this is a notice of motion, it won’t be discussed until the council meeting on Monday, Sept. 11.

On July 21, the City of New Westminster confirmed to The Anchor that clean-up was taking place after some folks spotted what appeared to be a sheen in the water near the vessel. The sheen had been spotted the day prior.

Crews were called in to take a look, and they confirmed the spill.

Some of the reasons for the request for the inquiry by Minhas—as outlined in the notice of motion—cite the public’s need for a full explanation of what happened on July 20.

The motion reads as follows:

Be it resolved that staff be directed to produce a public report regarding the July 2023 oil spill which emanated from the Samson V Museum, and be it further resolved this oil spill public report include the following core components:

• An overview of the negative environmental impacts caused by the

  Samson V oil spill to the Fraser River and surrounding

  communities;

• The full list of government agencies, regulators, community

  partners, environmental non-governmental organization involved in

  responding to the Samson V oil spill;

• Full costing of the environmental cleanup including an estimate of

  staff time;

• An estimate of any fines that may be levied by regulators and

  senior orders of government;

• Analysis as to circumstances which triggered the Samson V oil spill

  released into the Fraser River;

• Cost analysis of moving the Samson V into drydock for a period of

  up to 12 months for necessary repairs, safety and cosmetic

  upgrades/refurbishment

When the spill occurred, the city told The Anchor that the Coast Guard, along with the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) had cleaned up all of the oil from the impacted part of the Fraser River.

It also explained that the leak happened after fuel made its way from the fuel tanks into the ship’s bilge—which was then pumped outside the vessel.

“The bilge pumps have been turned off to ensure no more oil is pumped from the ship. The ship’s hull is sound and there is no current water ingress. WCMRC have also placed booms around the vessel as a further precaution,” the city said at the time.

The city also told The Anchor that the costs of the fuel spill would be covered through the capital budget, and would come out of the money earmarked for the Samson V’s maintenance. An insurance claim was expected to be filed.

The Samson V has since reopened.

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