Realistic oil spill response training taking place off southern Vancouver Island

An oil spill response exercise took place Wednesday off the shore of Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood.

The federally-mandated exercise is required by Transport Canada every two years for Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) to maintain its certification.

The realistic simulation of a 2,500-ton spill involved more than 12 vessel with at least 70 crew members, as well as an additional 100 staff representing more than 30 agencies working on land.

"Just like any other response organization, when you don’t have these bog spills you can test yourself on, you do need opportunities to exercise and train," said Michael Lowry, senior manager of communication for WCMRC.

"So it’s an excellent opportunity for us to get out here," he said. "We have six different bases within the area too. It’s a great chance for our folks from the different bases to come and work together on a large scale operation."

PREPERATION

The shipping lanes that run from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Port of Vancouver are used by about 3,500 deep sea vessels every year, and that number is expected to increase with the federal government’s approval of the Roberts Banks Terminal 2 in Delta.

WCMRC says that with more marine traffic, the chances of an actual spill increases. With its six bases stationed on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, the corporation has a six hour response time to spills throughout the southern coast.

The training exercise is pictured near Colwood. April 26, 2023. (CTV News)The response corporation says it is designed for low-probable but high consequence spills and uses specialized vessels and equipment including rapid response skimming vessels to respond to a spill.

WCMRC also considers itself the fire department on the ocean.

Based on a polluter pay model, WCMRC's state of readiness is funded by both the shipping and oil industry requiring ships over a certain size to have a membership with a certified response organization.

Additional funding comes from oil handling facilities that ship oil along the coast that must pay a bulk oil fee.

In the event of an actual spill, that particular polluter must pay for the corporation's response. If the clean up costs are beyond the polluter's ability to pay, there are international and Canadian funds to cover the cost.

"The idea here is it's industry-funded polluter pay, not a taxpayer regime," said Lowry.

The 30 agencies involved in the practice included representatives of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, alongside First Nations.

Wednesday's exercise was realistic in its response where containment of the spilled oil and protecting any critical areas was a first priority.

On water recovery by a number of different vessels is the next step making sure all the oil is off the water before on shore clean up begins.

Depending on what type of oil is spilled and how contaminated it is – the corporation says recovered oil can be recycled into asphalt.

WCMRC says it responds to about 20 smaller spills a year that are typically a fishing vessel that’s run aground that generally take a few hours or a few days to deal with. It says there has never been a spill the size it’s training for in Canadian waters.