Days after its crew abandoned it, the fishing vessel known as High Roller III remains stuck on the rocks in Bay de Verde. The Coast Guard received notification on Saturday about the 15-meter fishing boat taking on water near English Harbour, prompting the CCGS Sacred Bay to be dispatched from Old Perlican for assistance.
During the towing operation by CCGS Sacred Bay, the decision was made to evacuate the vessel due to water ingress. The five crew members safely boarded a life raft and were rescued by the CCGS Sacred Bay before being brought ashore. The vessel eventually grounded outside Bay de Verde Harbour with approximately 10,000 liters of diesel fuel, engine oil, hydraulic oil, and over 5,400 kilograms of cod onboard.
Following an initial assessment by the CCGS John Cabot, no visible pollution was observed. Additional crew members arrived later for an on-site evaluation. The vessel’s owner mobilized a tug, commercial divers, and a contractor to assist in the salvage, refloating, and fuel extraction efforts.
The Canadian Coast Guard remains present at the scene with response equipment to ensure an effective response and ongoing operations. The grounding of the vessel near the seawater intake system for the Quinlan Brothers seafood plant temporarily halted plant operations as a precautionary measure. The plant, which was preparing to process farmed salmon from Placentia Bay, refrained from using its water system to avoid any potential diesel fuel contamination.
Despite the incident, the plant aimed to resume its processing activities by Wednesday, maintaining caution regarding the water source. The company’s focus was on preventing any impact on its operations due to the proximity of the grounded vessel.
