Atlantic Canada : recipe for ruin, loophole in Canadian tanker laws questioned

During a storm in December 2000, the captain of a leaking supertanker named the Eastern Power requested permission to dock his 339-metre ship at Come by Chance in Newfoundland. The request was denied by Transport Canada and the barge carrying 1.9 million barrels of oil had to ride out the storm just outside Canada's 200-mile limit. The concern was that the hull might split and spill huge amounts of oil. The Eastern Power has only one hull and is twice the age that the Prevention of Pollution from Ships considers reasonable for the lifespan of a vessel. Tankers built after 1993 are required to have an inside and an outside frame in order to enter Canadian waters. Those that are not double hulled and built before 1993 will be phased out by 2015. The spokesman for Transport Canada explained that the concern regarding the Eastern Power was for the Canadian environment. Owners are responsible for making sure that their ships do not risk our environment. An added precaution requires that all ships radio the Canadian Coast Guard 24 hours before reaching the 200-mile limit to report on their course, destination and seaworthiness. While Transport Canada makes the ultimate decision on entry, it shares the information with the Department of National Defense, Environment Canada and the coast guard. In this case, the crew of the Eastern Power was able to pump cargo into a safer tank and repaired the rupture. It was then given permission to dock at Come By Chance, but it instead headed for the Caribbean. Newfoundland is still recovering from the collapse of the cod fishery and is trying to build an eco-tourism industry given that its Atlantic offshore is a marine ecological treasure. Environmentalists view some of the present marine laws, or lack of laws, as a gateway to a disaster which could wipe out some water fowl species and further reduce fish stocks. 1 fig