The Jake Shearer broke away from its tug in high winds Sunday afternoon, carrying millions of litres of diesel, gasoline

BELLA BELLA – Members of the Heiltsuk Nation on the central coast spent an anxious night waiting for word about a fuel barge that has broken away from its tug about 45 kilometres west of Bella Bella.

The US-registered Jake Shearer was carrying about 3.5-million litres of diesel and nearly half-a-million litres of gasoline when it broke free in heavy winds late yesterday afternoon and began to drift toward Goose Island.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre says crew aboard the tug managed to drop its anchor and the vessel is no longer drifting, but a rescue tug has not yet reached the scene.

Tweets from the coast guard and B.C.’s Environment Ministry confirm that a coast guard vessel was on the scene through the night and a rescue tug is heading to the area about 45 kilometres west of Bella Bella, while more resources are on the way.

#JakeShearer fuel barge remains anchored just off Goose Island near #BellaBellaBC. Additional resources are being sent to the incident location. Incident update: https://t.co/sGWVgi0vvH, @CCG_GCC @MarineResponse @VicJRCC_CCCOS — B.C. Spill Response (@SpillsInfoBC) November 27, 2017

No spill has occurred, but Heiltsuk spokeswoman Jess Housty says the First Nation remembers the spill of more than 100-thousand litres of diesel last year when the Nathan E. Stewart sank in the same region — and her social media posts ask for prayers for a safe outcome.

Was able to join @HDirector and @WilliamHousty on a call with Coast Guard and other agencies regarding #JakeShearer incident. Confident that #Heiltsuk is putting its best people forward, with lived experience from #NathanEStewart. More to come. In the meantime, prayers please. — Jess Housty (@heiltsukvoice) November 27, 2017