Coast Guard begins removal of oil from historic war shipwreck

By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A new expedition has begun to extract the oil stored in the USAT Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski Second World War shipwreck, aiming to reduce its ongoing threat to the surrounding environment. On Oct. 10, Diane Lebouthillier, minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard awarded Resolve Marine a $4.9 million contract to carry out the task. “A 2023 technical assessment suggests there is approximately 27,000 litres of oil remaining within the wreck,” said Kiri Westnedge, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard. The U.S. had employed the 77-metre ship M.G. Zalinski to transport army supplies and heavy fuel oil from Seattle to Whittier, Alaska, as part of the war effort in 1946. It struck a rocky outcrop and sank to the southeast of…

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