San Juan County and Islands Trust Joint Request for an Emergency Towing Vessel in Sidney

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200-1627 Fort Street, Victoria BC  V8R 1H8
Telephone  250.405.5151, 1.800.663.7867 
Fax  250.405.5155 
information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
www.islandstrust.bc.ca
350 Court Street No. 1  Friday Harbor, WA 98250 
Telephone: 360.378.2898 
Fax: 260.378.7208 
www.sanjuanco.com 
January 26, 2022 
The Honourable Joyce Murray 
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard 
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 
200 Kent St Station 15N100 
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6 
Th
e Honourable Omar Alghabra 
Minister of Transport  
Transport Canada  
330 Sparks Street  
Ottawa ON K1A 0N5  
Re: San Juan County and Islands Trust Joint Request for an Emergency Towing Vessel in Sidney 
De
ar Minister Murray and Minister Alghabra, 
Thank you for your leadership in enhancing marine safety through the Ocean Protection Plan. 
Commissioning the Atlantic Raven and Atlantic Eagle emergency towing vessels (ETVs) to respond to 
emergencies off Canada’s west coast reduces the risk of a disabled vessel drifting aground and spilling 
oil. T he threat of such an incident along the inland shipping routes to and from the Port of Vancouver 
poses an equal risk to the communities and ecosystems of the Salish Sea. San Juan County Council, 
Washington and the Islands Trust Council request that you facilitate the repositioning of one of Canada’s 
multi-mission ETVs to Sidney, British Columbia to extend the protections afforded by these vessels to 
the inland shipping corridor to Vancouver.  This is not a new request. Islands Trust Council and San Juan 
County Council jointly wrote Minister Garneau on this topic in May 2018
1
. We are pleased that you are 
now developing a National Strategy on Emergency Towing and hope this letter and supporting studies 
can inform your work. 
Recent studies by Canadian interests, San Juan County, and the Washington Department of Ecology 
demonstrate the need for and feasibility of an ETV for oil spill prevention in the Southern Strait of 
Georgia, Boundary Pass, Turn Point off of Stuart Island, Haro Strait, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. These 
studies demonstrate: 
•Tugs of opportunity cannot be relied upon for emergency response in the central Salish Sea.
•A dedicated ETV stationed in Sidney could be effective in responding to disabled vessels in
inland waters.
•Positioning both of Canada’s ETVs on the coast does not provide the margin of safety needed for
timely response to inland waters, such as the threats recently posed by M/V Zim Kingston.
•Canada’s two ETVs have been present in the inland waters, mooring in Victoria or Sidney a total
of 54 days and could be reliably present for oil spill prevention if one were repositioned.
•Washington’s Neah Bay ETV and one Canadian ETV potentially could maintain protection of
Canada’s west coast, responding in time to prevent 90-95 percent of vessels from drifting aground.
Tugs of opportunity cannot provide the rescue capability necessary in these waters today, let alone in 
anticipation of increasing vessel sizes and tra

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