B.C. First Nation travels to U.K., seeks compensation 9 years after fuel spill
The delegation from the Heiltsuk First Nation met with Arsenio Dominguez, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as well as Transport Canada’s IMO delegation in London.
The First Nation wants the Canadian government to come to the table to resolve restoration and compensation for the Nathan E. Stewart oil spill, which happened almost 10 years ago in Heiltsuk territory.
The tug was loaded with 226,840 litres of diesel fuel when it ran aground just west of Bella Bella on Oct. 13, 2017, and dumped 110,000 litres of fuel into the water, contaminating the Heiltsuk’s primary harvesting sites.
A shellfish harvesting closure was imposed the next day, and yesterday afternoon’s report describes oiled shorelines along sections of Seaforth Channel and oil sheen in surrounding waters.
The First Nation says it has still not been fully compensated for the losses and restoration, which it estimates at $23 million.
“This area was one of our most productive clam beds, and our people would harvest numerous other species there, and we relied on it for food and for ceremonies,” Heiltsuk Nation Chief Marilyn Slett said.
“Some of our families harvest, up to 60 per cent of their diet comes from the ocean”
The tugboat, the Nathan E Stewart, and the barge, the DBL 55, departed from the Port of Vancouver on Oct. 4 and arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska on Oct. 11.
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Together, the vessels were known as an articulated tug and barge (ATB), and were operated by Kirby Offshore Marine.
While in Alaska, the ATB discharged a cargo of jet fuel and gasoline and loaded 23,128 gallons of fuel oil into its tanks before it set course once again for the Port of Vancouver.
Once underway, the crew of the Nathan E Stewart/DBL 55 rotated watch duties at intervals of four hours on, eight hours off.
On the night of Oct. 12, the ATB’s second mate relieved the ship’s captain of his watch in the wheelhouse at 11 p.m., an hour earlier than his scheduled time.
With the ATB travelling at speeds of anywhere between 8.4 and 9.3 knots, he took the vessel through Queen Charlotte Sound, making a pre-approved course change at Salal Island.
The ATB had an electronic chart system (ECS), a navigational tool with a cross-track error alarm function that would sound an alarm if the vessel’s position veered to the right or the left of its path for the route it was taking.
But that tool wasn’t used on the night in question. It often wasn’t, the second mate said.
With the second mate standing watch, the Nathan E Stewart missed a course change near Ivory Island at about 12:53 a.m. on Oct. 13.
A tankerman tried to reach the second mate via radio at around 1 a.m. There was no response after a minute.
He tried him again. That, too, yielded no response.
The tankerman then headed toward the wheelhouse and felt a “shuddering” in the vessel along the way.
Finally, on his third try, he reached the second mate, who informed him that the Nathan E Stewart had run aground at Edge Reef, which is a rocky area close to Athlone Island in the Seaforth Channel.
The second mate would later admit he had fallen asleep and confirmed this detail with investigators.
Global News contacted Transport Canada for its response to the Heiltsuk’s request for compensation, but did not receive a response.
The Heiltsuk First Nation is also asking the International Maritime Organization to change ship liability and compensation laws to account for Indigenous and cultural losses.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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