HALIFAX -- A tanker ran aground Wednesday off Quebec's Ile d'Anticosti in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but officials said its 21 crew members remained on board and were trying to refloat the vessel.
Canadian Armed Forces Capt. Robert Curran, at the Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Center, said the asphalt-filled tanker -- Rio Orinoco -- had developed engine problems two days ago.
Curran said the tanker was anchored to allow the crew to work on the engines, but strong currents dragged the anchor to shallower water. At that point, the engine room flooded and the tanker settled on the bottom.
Curran said double-hulled tanker was not leaking any of its cargo.
Ile d'Anticosti lies off the coast of the Quebec mainland near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is formed by Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
The Coast Guard has three pollution and safety ships in the area and inspectors boarded the tanker to help the crew determine how to refloat it, Curran said.
Curran said the tanker was believed to be registered in the Cayman Islands and was en route from the Dutch Antilles to Montreal when the trouble occurred.
'We are keeping our eye on it,' Curran said, adding he expected it to be several days before the ship could be refloated. He said the engine room would have to be pumped, the engines restarted and the cargo reheated and perhaps transferred to another vessel.
