VANCOUVER – A barge that ran aground on Quadra Island on Saturday evening is expected to be refloated Sunday afternoon, according to the Canadian Coast Guard.
The container barge Nana Provider was being towed by a tugboat, the Polar King, when it ran aground at about 8 p.m. on Saturday night off Quathiaski Cove on Quadra Island.
None of the six tugboat crew members were hurt and there is no sign of ocean pollution after the accident, said Michelle Imbeau, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard. The tugboat is not damaged.
The hull of the barge, which is carrying containers and rail cars, is currently being checked for damage.
Sarah Boyes was at home on Quadra Island on Saturday evening when she heard a loud rumbling. She's used to seeing tugboats and barges pass by, but this noise sounded much louder and when Boyes looked out the window, the barge seemed a lot closer to shore than usual.
Then: "The whole place shook: the rock shook, the house shook and it went from 20 to 30 seconds," Boyes said. "There was this huge, really scary metallic dragging sound."
"As I got to the window you could see it happening, you could hear the shouts of male voices, and it sounded like they were on the barge saying, 'Whoa, help, stop!' all drowned out by this metallic sound."
Imbeau said the "responsible party" is now making plans to get an assist tugboat to refloat the barge Sunday afternoon during high tide.
The Nana Provider is operated by Seattle-based Alaska Marine Lines, while the Polar King is operated by Dunlap Towing in LaConner, Washington.
CTV News Vancouver was not able to reach anyone at Alaska Marine Lines. A man who answered the phone at Dunlap Towing declined to comment on the accident.
With files from CTV News Vancouver Island's Gord Kurbis.
