“They’re being very thorough ensuring that any trace elements have been cleaned up,” said St. Lawrence Seaway Corp. spokesman Andrew Bogora Friday afternoon.
The Welland Canal was shut down for most of Thursday after a fuel oil spill at wharf 2 in Port Weller around 1:15 a.m.
Officials said the vessel Atlantic Huron was receiving fuel after exiting the canal with a load of coal when the fuel overflowed. Vessel owner Canada Steamship Lines estimated between 100 to 150 litres of fuel was spilled into Lake Ontario.
The crew activated an emergency response plan and contacted Eastern Canada Response Corp. for clean up. A boom was deployed around the vessel to contain the fuel, which floats on the surface of the water.
It was originally estimated the clean up would be finished Thursday night.
Canada Steamship Lines spokeswoman Brigitte Hebert said Friday there were high winds and waves up to two feet which caused the clean up to take longer than expected.
Borgora said thoroughness was also cause for the longer time.
“The question we’re always looking at is, are the emergency responders acting in a very competent manner? From everything we’ve seen, they’ve exercised the highest degree of competence in cleaning up this spill,” he said.
The Welland Canal reopened Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and remained open Friday while the clean up continued.
Bogora said traffic was ordered to proceed at a slower pace within the area of the spill so the oil wouldn’t be disturbed.
Once the Atlantic Huron ship departs the area and the wharf it’s sitting against is exposed, there may be additional clean up work along the edge, Bogora said.
Thursday’s canal closure caused a small backup with five vessels waiting to proceed through the canal.