Coast guard vessel tows disabled Russian cargo ship off B.C. coast

WATCH ABOVE: It appeared a disaster was averted Friday night, as a coast guard vessel was able to get a line on a Russian container ship that could have run aground into Haida Gwaii. Aaron McArthur reports.

OLD MASSETT, B.C. – It’s slow going in heavy seas, but a Canadian Coast Guard vessel is continuing to tow a disabled Russian cargo ship away from the rocky shores of British Columbia’s northern coast.

The operation began Friday evening when the crew of the Gordon Reid managed to secure a tether to the Simushir.

The container ship lost power Thursday night in rough water off Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, while sailing from Washington state to Russia.

There were immediate concerns it could drift ashore, break apart and spill hundreds of tonnes of bunker and diesel fuel, creating an environmental disaster.

Sub Lt. Melissa Kia, at the Canadian Forces’ joint rescue co-ordination centre in Victoria, said the Simushir was being towed due West away from shore at about one nautical mile per hour, in three to five metres seas.

Kia said the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the American Coast Guard cutter Spar were due to arrive on scene, along with the ocean going tug Barbara Foss, later Saturday morning to provide any additional assistance that might be needed.