A little more than half of the heavy fuel oil on board the Baltic III has now been removed from the cargo ship. It’s hoped that the cleanup operation will start moving faster now that a new barge, better able to access the ship, is on scene.

The 207-metre cargo ship was estimated to have some 1,600 metric tonnes of heavy fuel and marine gas on board when it ran aground off Lark Harbour in February.

Bruce English of the Canadian Coast Guard says the material must be warmed up before it’s removed.

English says the oil is so thick, the salvage master said he could stand on it before it was warmed up. “So it will take a number of days to heat just that tank in order to be able to pump it to the deck and then subsequently onto the barge and move it to the shoreline.”

That job, and the removal of the remaining containers on board, should get easier now that the salvage company has secured a shallow-draft barge.

“Its main purpose is to remove some of the containers,” says English. “It’ll be able to get in alongside the Baltic and doesn’t need as much water as a regular vessel.”