NL

Placentia Bay shipping facility closed after tanker ship strikes wharf

An investigation is underway after an incident near Arnold's Cove, N.L., led to a tanker ship striking the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment Ltd. facility.

Facility will stay closed for safety inspections and damage assessment, company says

A photo of a wharf from a snowy hill.
A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

An investigation is underway after a tanker ship struck the wharf at a Newfoundland Transshipment Ltd. facility near Arnold's Cove, N.L., in Placentia Bay.

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Newfoundland Transshipment Ltd. president Paul Durdle said the crash happened on Wednesday. There were no injuries and no crude oil was spilled, he said, but the company isn't commenting on the extent of damage to the facility.

It's believed the vessel Altera Thule was involved. It's not clear if the vessel was damaged, but Transport Canada told CBC on Friday that an inspection will happen to ensure it complies with the Canada Shipping Act.

The facility is a delivery point for oil from the Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron fields, and can store more than three million barrels of crude.

All operations have been suspended following the incident until damage can be assessed and safety inspections can happen, Durdle said.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.

With files from Terry Roberts