Placentia Bay shipping facility closed after tanker ship strikes wharf

A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Whiffen Head, Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed. (Danny Arsenault/CBC - image credit)
A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Whiffen Head, Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed. (Danny Arsenault/CBC - image credit)
A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Whiffen Head, Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed.
A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Whiffen Head, Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed.

A tanker ship struck the wharf at the Newfoundland Transshipment facility in Placentia Bay on Wednesday. The company says no one was injured and no crude oil was spilled, but the facility will close until damage can be assessed. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

An investigation is underway after a tanker ship struck the wharf at a Newfoundland Transshipment Ltd. facility near Arnold's Cove, N.L., in Placentia Bay.

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Newfoundland Transshipment Ltd. president Paul Durdle said the crash happened on Wednesday. There were no injuries and no crude oil was spilled, he said, but the company isn't commenting on the extent of damage to the facility.

ADVERTISEMENT

It's believed the vessel Altera Thule was involved. It's not clear if the vessel was damaged, but Transport Canada told CBC on Friday that an inspection will happen to ensure it complies with the Canada Shipping Act.

The facility is a delivery point for oil from the Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron fields, and can store more than three million barrels of crude.

All operations have been suspended following the incident until damage can be assessed and safety inspections can happen, Durdle said.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.