RANKIN INLET
Approximately 500 litres of gasoline leaked into the harbour in Rankin Inlet after a motorboat stuck a refuelling line on July 13.

The fuel was being unloaded from the M/V Sten Fjard via a hose floated in the water when the small boat ran into the line the line sometime after 7 p.m.

The impact ended up creating a two inch cut in the line.

Original reports suggested that damage to the line could have resulted in as many as 2,000 litres leaking into the harbour, however the Canadian Coast Guard estimated it was closer to 500 litres.

Carol Launderville, spokeswoman for the Canadian Coast Guard in the Central and Arctic Region, said the local fire department, the Nunavut petroleum contracting manager and the crew of the ship initiated a clean-up effort as soon as the incident occurred.

According to Mayor Robert Janes, they used absorbent booms to make sure the oil didn't reach shore.

"Thank God it wasn't as bad as it could have been," he said.

The incident led to gasoline services to be shut off until late in the afternoon on July 14.

Representatives for the territorial government's petroleum products division, which oversees the refuelling, did not return phone calls requesting a comment.

In an e-mail to Kivalliq News sent on July 15, Launderville said high winds and tides would likely lead the gasoline to dissipate over the next couple of days.

Janes said he was pleased with the response.

"It's been all cleaned up and everybody is happy with what's been done," he said.

"It's unfortunate that it happened but there was minimal, minimal damage."

Janes said he heard suggestions that the tanker should increase the number of disability buoys around the refuelling line in the future but he said he didn't have any concerns the incident reoccurring.

"That ship, they've been coming in here a long while and this is the first time this happened," he said.

"I don't think it'll happen again."

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