Arrow; Nova Scotia, Canada

Nova Scotia, Canada | 1970-Feb-04

Initial Notification: On February 4, 1970, at 0935, the steam tanker Arrow ran hard aground on Cerberus Rock in Chedabucto Bay off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The vessel had been traveling off course at nearly full speed when the grounding occurred. The Arrow broke into two pieces on February 12, spilling between 77,000 and 82,500 barrels of Bunker C Oil into the waters of the bay. Visibility at the time of the grounding was between five and six miles, water temperatures were very cold and there was ice in the bays and inlets. There were high winds and seas at the time of the spill. This worked to spread the oil into Chedabucto Bay, and the oil eventually impacted approximately 300 kilometers of the bay's shoreline.