Update – Mowi responding to equipment shed flipped into water during coastal storm

November 19, 2020 – 4 p.m.

Working with authorities, Mowi has resolved the incident where an equipment shed containing an engine and fuel tank flipped off a farm in Phillips Arm into the water during Monday’s extreme storm.

The shed, engine, and fuel tank were lifted out of the water and secured by shortly after 7 p.m. yesterday by a work boat with a crane, in a careful procedure conducted under the supervision of authorities.

The site was surrounded by oil booms and pads during the entire operation, in order to capture and secure any oil that has spilled.

The double-walled fuel tank did not rupture. DFO biologists have surveyed the farm and surrounding waters of the Phillips Arm inlet, while the Coast Guard has flown over the site in a plane to confirm there has been no large spill. The Coast Guard will fly over the site again tomorrow in a helicopter to double-check the finding.

Mowi continues to keep area First Nations informed of developments.

November 18, 2020 – 1 p.m.

Mowi is responding to an incident on a farm northeast of Campbell River where an equipment shed containing an engine and double-walled fuel tank was flipped into the water during yesterday’s extreme coastal storm.

About 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, an equipment shed on a Mowi Canada West salmon farm in Phillips Arm, northeast of Campbell River, was dislodged and flipped during a period of high winds and rain. The shed landed in the water immediately adjacent to the farm.

The shed contained a diesel engine with an estimated 8 – 10 litres of engine oil and a small amount of hydraulic oil, and a double-walled diesel tank. Early this morning divers confirmed the tank is intact and remained in the shed. The tank is being lifted out of the water now by a work boat with a crane.

After the incident the farm crew immediately secured the shed to the farm to prevent it from sinking or floating away, and deployed four spill kits including booms and pads around the shed to contain any spill. A small amount of oil has been observed within the booms, likely from the engine, but none has been observed in the wider environment.

Mowi deployed divers and an ROV to assess the situation underwater, and a work vessel with crane to recover the fuel tank, engine, any other equipment, and the shed itself when safe to do so. The oil inside the booms will be cleaned up.

Mowi has notified the Coast Guard, DFO, Province, and area First Nations, and is working with those organizations to address this incident.

Media contact information:

Chris Read

Mowi Canada West

1-250-830-8665

chris.read@mowi.com