Sunken boat craned out of Exeter Canal as work on oil spillage completed

Published: 8 November 2022

Work to contain an oil and diesel spillage in the Exeter Ship Canal has now finished, with the sunken boat now out of the water.

The 44-ton fishing boat was craned out of the canal and is now sitting on dry land at Gabriel’s Wharf.

The remaining oil and diesel was pumped out of the vessel today and the propped-up boat is covered in plastic sheeting to collect any pollutants that may drip out.

Booms that were used to contain any oil and diesel in the canal are being removed today as all the pollutants have been mopped up and removed. A slight iridescent sheen remains but this will evaporate shortly.

The privately-owned vessel sank to the bottom of the canal at the end of October, leaching pollutants into the water.

Staff from the Council’s Canal team were on the scene within 10 minutes of it being reported and quickly closed King’s Arm gates to prevent any oil or diesel getting in the river.

A specialist contractor was then brought in to help deal with the situation and the Environment Agency notified.

The Council is attempting to track down the owner of the vessel to recover costs incurred by the incident.

Cllr Ruth Williams, Lead Councillor with responsibility for Waterways, praised Council staff for their quick actions and work to contain the spillage.

She said that the Council’s Executive was in the process of seeking a Harbour Revision Order to give the local authority legal powers to instruct owners to remove unseaworthy vessels from Exeter’s waterways to avoid further incidents of this type occurring.