Russian cargo ship docked in Prince Rupert

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PRINCE RUPERT (NEWS1130) – It’s been causing concern for the last few days, triggering visions of an environmental disaster in one of the most pristine parts of our province.

A Russian cargo ship that lost power Thursday night near Haida Gwaii is now safely docked in Prince Rupert. The Simushir has been towed into the northern BC port by an American tugboat.

The ship, which was carrying mining equipment and was filled with fuel, didn’t make it to shore without a struggle.

A Canadian Coast Guard vessel managed to get a line hooked onto the freighter, but it kept breaking. A US tug started towing the ship on Saturday afternoon.

This incident has environmentalists raising questions about how safe marine ecosystems are, particularly with pushes to increase the amount of oil tanker traffic off our province’s coast. Those pushes include Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway project.

It’s expected the Simushir will be in Prince Rupert for 48 hours undergoing repairs.

The port has tweeted the ship isn’t impacting other business there.

A mechanical failure caused the ship to lose power.

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