Coast guard recommends oil be removed from shipwreck off Newfoundland coast
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — More than 30 years after the cargo vessel Manolis L. ran aground and sank off Newfoundland’s scenic Change Islands, the Canadian Coast Guard is recommending the full removal of the remaining oil from the wreck.
The Liberian-flagged vessel was carrying a load of paper when it went down off the Blowhard Rocks in Notre Dame Bay in January 1985 with more than 500 tonnes of fuel and diesel on board, most of which has already leaked.
“There is a risk to the environment, most definitely,” the coast guard’s regional director, Anne Miller, said Friday. “That is why we are recommending the removal of the oil.”
Miller said it is too early to say how much removing the fuel would cost, but she said it was “safe to assume” it would take more than the $6 million allotted to conduct last summer’s assessment.