Trent Severn Waterway closed norht of Lake Simcoe

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LaBomba

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Nov 18, 2012
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Looking Glass
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Carver 370 Voyager
For any loopers or others travelling the Trent Severn this week the canal has been closed for the last 4 days due to a boat running on the rocks and discharging a significant amount of diesel. Check ahead with Parks Canada if you are up this way. The attached link shows the sunken vessel, someone just not paying attention to the channel markers I expect.

Fuel leaks into Trent-Severn Waterway after boat sinks | CTV Barrie News
 
Where did you get your information? The website doesn't show any information on any shutdown.
 
Where did you get your information? The website doesn't show any information on any shutdown.

I live and boat on Simcoe and as reported by our local boating community, no traffic was being allowed north of the Lake Couchiching. That was as of yesterday but that may have changed since then and thus the warning to call ahead or ask at any of the locks as to the status of the waterway. Just and FYI
 
What type of boat was it? Looks like a Krogen :eek:

L.
 
The linked article mentioned a rock. 900 liters of fuel. :confused: Hmmmm
 
Just brcause a boat sinks it doesnt mean all the fuel leaks out. Most of the time it is slow unless a tank was ruptured. And sometimes little or none gets out.

Wonder if they are reporting "possible" rather than actual leakage.

And the only reasons to close the waterway in my experience is they need the room for salvage or more likely they are concerned wakes may cause more damage and more fuel leakage.

But at 900 liters on board , it isnt huge to offload the fuel. Especially if part of the boat is still above water.
 
I suspect based on the location of the boat they'll probably patch the hole, refloat and tow a number of miles to a yard.

Another reason for closure is by keeping the downstream lock shut they can limit any lost fuel.
 
AGLCA had posts from Loopers with the pic of the sunken boat as they passed by.

The post was from Jul 3 and right near Hamlet Bridge.
 
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Hard to believe that the fuel hasn't evaporated/dissapated/emulsified to the point theres nothing to absorb anymore and sooner or later it will be opened whether out of the environment or not.
 
But almost impossible to clean up just a sheen unless you put a pad over every square inch.

Most salvage jobs with gas or diesel spills we dont even bother and the governments only ask to boom if the salvage will take much longer.

Motor oil is a different story.

Last winter there was a sheen surrounding a dock at Patric Air Force base when we were there. There were 2 commercial clean up organizations and at least e government representatives from different agencies to supervise.

When all was said and done, hundreds of pads were deployed and I will bet than less than a cup of fuel was recovered. It was boomed off and the boom may have gotten a few more quarts at best.

All that time, money and energy when I knew it would do very little. Most gas and diesel cleanups are for show, not the environment as both Sailor of Fortune and I posted before.
 
It's probably good for boaters that they put on the show though. If the government started telling waterfront property owners with oil washing up on their shore to just "deal with it".......or enviromental extremists its not cost effective to clean up that spill....there would be backlash that would eventually have a negative impact on the boating industry.
 
Yep, the truth is wasted on people.

Thats where we are on so many topics.

Unless a dead pooling area, after a day, a diesel sheen is all but gone.

Initially, the report was that the accident may have been because of high water and strong currents. If that is true, had they allowed the current to flow, even if all the diesel had escaped, no one would have known or cared a day or two later.
 
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