A Ketchikan-bound fuel barge loaded with a million gallons of diesel and gasoline that detached from its tug is now anchored with a protective boom around it while it awaits inspections by Canadian authorities.
The Zidell Marine 277 barge detached from its tug Sunday while transiting through the Canadian portion of the Inside Passage.
A second tug was able to re-attach the 430-foot barge early Monday. Now it’s anchored off Campbell Island near the community of Bella Bella, British Columbia.
Fuel transport through the notoriously narrow Inside Passage is controversial among First Nations communities and environmentalists.
A fuel barge ran aground in the same area after departing Ketchikan last year. It spilled about 29,000 gallons of diesel that closed a nearby clam fishery.
Jacob Resneck is CoastAlaska's regional news director in Juneau.
