US Coast Guard searching for drifting Canadian barge

A U.S. Coast Guard plane is searching for a Canadian barge that’s been drifting in heavy seas for days off of the coast of Alaska.

“It’s airborne right now en route to the Alaskan Arctic slope to try and relocate the drifting Canadian barge,” U.S. Coast Guard Cdr. Shawn Decker said Friday.

Decker said the barge was last seen on Wednesday and is thought to be within 15 kilometres of the low, gravelly Alaskan shore.

The barge, owned by Northern Transportation Corp. Ltd., broke free from its tugboat on Tuesday under unexpectedly heavy seas that featured four-metre waves and 70 km/h winds.

“The storm that came up was unforecasted,” said Patrick Schmidt, president of NTCL. “Nobody seemed to see it coming.”

The barge was returning to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, after delivering supplies to a remote site along the Canadian coastline. It is unloaded, although it is carrying 3,500 litres of light diesel in fuel tanks for its own engines.

Decker said a Canadian government plane went looking for the barge on Thursday but had to turn back due to mechanical problems. The crew of the U.S. plane is using drift projections based on local currents and winds to find the 40-metre craft.

Although winds in the area remain high, Schmidt said a break is expected over the weekend. If that happens, the company will try to get sailors aboard the unmanned vessel.

“Our intent is to get people on board to bring it in under its own power,” he said.

Tugboats in the region have all been docked for the winter. Decker said sea ice is closing in on the barge, both from the shore and from the open ocean to the north.

Schmidt said there’s a chance the barge may have to be left locked in the ice over the winter.

In case of an accident, Decker said nearby Prudhoe Bay is well supplied with spill clean-up equipment.

Decker said barges do come loose occasionally. But he added such occurrences are likely to become more common if shipping in the Arctic increases due to melting sea ice and northern resource development.

“It is well documented that the entire Canadian and American Arctic region is seeing a definite increase in maritime traffic. Any time you have an increase in maritime traffic, you’re going to have an increased chance that these incidents are going to occur.”

The drifting barge highlights the importance of having adequate emergency response capability, Decker said.