Coast guard installs new device to catch oil from Manolis L

The Canadian Coast Guard says it has installed a new device to catch oil leaking from a shipwreck in northeastern Newfoundland.

Spokesman Sam Whiffen says a newly designed cofferdam was lowered over the weekend to replace one that had shifted since it was installed in July.

Reports of surface sheens also prompted the coast guard last spring to use neoprene gaskets to plug small cracks in the hull of the Manolis L.

Reports from hunters in late December of more sheens, oiled seabirds and the smell of oil raised fresh alarms as the province called on Ottawa for a permanent fix.

The vessel was loaded with more than 500 tonnes of fuel oil and diesel when it sank in January 1985 near Change Islands in Notre Dame Bay.

The coast guard says no oil was seen on the surface after the new cofferdam was installed but surveillance from the water and air will continue.