Gitga’at Nation responds to Tugboat grounding near Sainty Point; third vessel to run aground near Hartley Bay in as many months

Yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, March 3rd, The Gitga’at Nation had responded to a tugboat that had run aground off Hartley Bay.

The nation was notified of the grounding at 4:47 p.m. and quickly dispatched a crew from Gitga’at territory by 5 p.m. to attend the scene. The Nation says that at the time, crew members didn’t know what sort of incident they were heading towards, or what type of vessel had been grounded.

As it turns out, the vessel was a large American tugboat, the Muzon, which had become beached at Sainty Point.

The Canadian Coast Guard was notified and also attended the scene. Coast Guard crews were able to contact the crew on the vessel and conducted a visual inspection from the water.

According to the Gitga’at crew that responded, there were no visible punctures, or dents on the vessel, only a few scratches. No contamination had been noticed in the surrounding water or the shore either. A closer inspection with the tugboat’s engineer confirmed the same.

A second tugboat was dispatched to the scene last night and remained there late into the evening until the Muzon had been refloated, sometime before midnight. The last Gitga’at crew on scene stood down around 8 p.m. and returned home.

The Nation said they’ll be sending a full report will be submitted to the Coast Guard, adding that this is the third grounding of an American tug in the area in the past three months.

A statement released by the Nation said in part, “We are watching. We are responding. And we will continue to protect our Territory.”