Weather a concern as salvage of massive cargo ship enters home stretch in NL

There have been some increased impacts on the environment in recent days, but the Canadian Coast Guard says the ongoing MSC Baltic III salvage effort must maintain its steady pace.

The massive cargo ship was grounded on Newfoundland’s west coast after losing power in a blizzard on Feb. 15, 2025.

Private companies have been working to salvage the vessel, with some 68 per cent of the vessel’s tonnage now removed.

The Coast Guard, which is monitoring the work, had previously reported some sheening on the water and nearby shorelines as a result of hydrocarbons inevitably seeping from the ship’s remnants.

According to the latest operational update, there has been more sheening sighted, including oiled vegetation and debris as well as fresh tar stains, balls and smears.

Three dead birds have also been recovered from the area, but the causes of their deaths have not yet been confirmed.

“The additional pulling operations, coupled with the adverse weather that we’ve seen over recent weeks, stirred up the waters and had an effect on the wreck,” Blain Trainor, the Coast Guard’s deputy superintendent for marine environmental and hazards response, said in an interview Friday, Oct. 16.

Trainor said he couldn’t identify the species of dead birds that were found, noting that an investigation was being undertaken by Environment and Climate Change Canada, which has also had personnel on-site since the wreck happened.

Postmedia requested an interview with Environment and Climate Change Canada about the birds and any other environmental concerns the agency might have, but no interview or comment had been provided as of publication.

Florida-based Resolve Marine Group Inc., which took over the salvage operation in May 2026, has so far cut up and removed 7,445 tonnes, according to the update posted on Friday, Oct. 16.

The work involved removing as much of the ship as possible by tug and barge and transporting by sea to a recycling facility in nearby Stephenville before pulling the remainder ashore to be processed on the Cedar Cove beach.

As of Friday, Resolve had pulled the bow and midship section of the wreck another 33 metres for a total of 170 metres.

The stern section has been hauled a further 53 metres, bringing it a total of 78 metres closer to shore from where it had been grounded.

The salvage efforts, which included emptying the MSC Baltic III of as much potential pollutants as possible before commencing the dismantling and removal process, have left some residual fuels still aboard what’s left of the ship.

The Coast Guard said, with residual fuel still onboard, some sheening is to be expected and typically occurs following rough seas.

Up until the second-to-last live operations update, which was Oct. 9, the salvage had involved on-water pollution containment and recovery operations when weather allowed for it.

Trainor said the salvage has reached a stage where maintaining a protective berm around the work site has now become impractical.

“Resolve, when there was a release, tried to put out some absorbent boom and pads to try and do their best to collect as much as they can, but the weather came up and it wasn’t safe for them to stay out on the water,” explained Trainor.

“So, there’s nothing really in place now, and the conditions are too dynamic. Operationally, it’d be very difficult to keep anything in place with the strong winds and high sea states at times there.

“Anything that you may put out there in the form of a containment boom wouldn’t last. It would just tear up and end up on the beach.”

Additional sheening may occur as weather continues to deteriorate in the area, the Coast Guard noted, and both federal agencies involved will continue to conduct on-water and aerial pollution surveillance and monitoring, weather permitting.

Daily shoreline monitoring is continuing when it is safe to do so, and the Coast Guard said all tar balls, stains, and oiled debris are cleaned and removed as found.

The MSC Baltic III’s six main fuel tanks are all in the bow section that has been hauled ashore for processing and transport by truck to the recycling facility in Stephenville. Those tanks and any other sections containing hydrocarbons are being cleaned to remove residual fuels before being trucked out.

When it grounded, the ship had been carrying nearly 1,700 metric tonnes of various fuels and oils. Nearly all of it has been removed, but Trainor said it is impossible to say just how much is left.

He also said it’s difficult to say if the level of sheening is what they expected to see.

“That question is hard to answer because there’s too many variables that come into play on an operation like this,” he said.

“We would hope that there’d be none, but when you’re trying to pull a 700-foot vessel ashore for deconstruction, I think it’s fair to suspect that there may be some type of sheening.

“But Resolve is on it. They have their oil spill response plans in place, and we’re providing that oversight to ensure that, when safe to do so, if there is any kind of a release, that it’s being taken care of as safe and quickly as possible.”

Trainor, who has been part of the Coast Guard crew assigned to monitor the MSC Baltic III salvage since it began in February 2025, said it has been amazing to see the progress Resolve has made since the spring with removing the ship.

He said the company intends to forge ahead with the removal process for as long as conditions allow, but it’s impossible to say if they will get the entire ship removed before the weather grinds operations to a halt.

The salvage work being done by Resolve’s predecessor, T and T Marine Salvage Inc., had to be slowed in early November 2025 when stormy weather set in and was followed by persistently unfavorable working conditions throughout the ensuing winter months.

“There’s so many moving parts with this and the weather is now coming against us, which hampers progress,” Trainor said.

“Speed is not the primary goal here, and we want to make sure to minimize the environmental impacts as much as possible.”