Salmon farmer Grieg Seafood on the west coast of Vancouver Island is reporting no injuries or pollution after the Ronja Islander, a live fish transport and treatment vessel owned by aquaculture industry service partner S酶lvtrans, hit a rock in Tahsis Inlet on March 8.

Tahsis Inlet is located in Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation (MMFN) territory and Nootka Sound.

Recently, in mid-December 2024, Grieg Seafood was responsible for spilling between 7,000 to 8,000 litres of diesel fuel by Lutes Creek in Esperanza Inlet, which is in Ehattesaht/Chinehkint First Nation territory and neighbours MMFN. 

The Lutes Creek diesel spill spread throughout Nootka Sound, resulting in temporary shellfish harvesting closures.

According to Grieg Seafood, the Ronja Islander sustained some damage from the March 8 crash, but was able to make its way to the West Coast Marine Terminals in Gold River under its own power.

The distressed vessel called the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria for assistance, and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) sent a boat, which escorted it to nearby Gold River, states a March 10 news brief on vesseltracker.com.

鈥淲e do not at this time know the cause of the accident, but once the investigation has been completed, we will look to learn from this event and do everything we can to minimize the likelihood of a reoccurrence in future" said Grieg Seafood COO Grant Cumming.  

鈥淚t is regrettable that the incident happened, we are pleased that nobody was hurt and there has been no pollution as a result of the incident,鈥� Cumming continued.

The Transportation Safety Board was made aware of the incident and MMFN says they are getting updates from Grieg Seafood.

鈥淥ur understanding is that there isn鈥檛 any concern at this time,鈥� said MMFN Chief Maquinna. 

Grieg Seafood says there were no fish on board the Ronja Islander at the time of the incident.

The Ha-Shilth-Sa sent a message to the Canadian Coast Guard and will update this story as more information becomes available.