Crews are on scene after a diesel slick was spotted in English Bay Friday morning.
Dan Bate, with the Canadian Coast Guard, said a resident reported what looked like a diesel slick in the area of False Creek around 10:30 a.m.
Western Canada Marine was contracted to clean it up after the Coast Guard spotted the visible sheen.
Upon further investigation, the slick was deemed non-recoverable as no product could be picked up and the sheen was too thin on the surface.
Bate says they are not classifying it as a “spill” at this time, but rather a release of product that happens from time to time and is not unusual for the area.
Bate says last year’s oil spill from MV Marathassa involved a much heavier product, called Bunker C fuel. The ship appeared to suffer a malfunction when it leaked about 2,700 litres of fuel on its maiden voyage to Vancouver on April 8, 2015, launching a massive clean-up effort.
Coast Guard crews remain on the site.
The origin of the spill is not known but Bate says it could have been caused by someone refuelling a vessel.
– With a file from The Canadian Press