Immediately after the spill and as soon as we heard that it had happened, we in the Pacific Rim branch started reaching out to our local Coast Guard networks in Tofino and also the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The spill happened alarmingly close to where the Hanjin happened five years previously, so we were fully prepared for those containers to maybe wash up on beaches close to us. We wanted to get the plans in motion and to establish the connections with the federal agencies and the people who were involved on the ground.
When it became clear that wasn't going to happen, that the containers had moved further north, we reached out to the BC Marine Debris Working Group and to the regional command of the Coast Guard to establish what resources we had available as a collective. We also communicated that to the Coast Guard, so that, again, we knew what we had available, and we were able to [Technical difficulty—Editor] the importance of speed in these situations. The longer the stuff sits on the ground, the further it spreads and the worse the situation gets. We communicated that proactively, and we were ready to respond.
Unfortunately, the cost of the polluter pays principle, and the need for the owner of the ship to contract someone to coordinate the cleanup.... We were essentially actively dissuaded from engaging in any cleanup for weeks. It wasn't until we approached the contractor to say, “These are the resources we have. Can we support you?” that the conversation even went anywhere.
It was disappointing because, as I said, we had resources, human resources, boat assets, and all of the frameworks that we've developed from working together for such a long time. We were ready to go and to respond in a timely manner, but we weren't asked to do that.