The Heiltsuk Nation has reached a $12.2 million settlement with Kirby Corp., Houston, and the former second mate, Henry Hendrix, of the tug Nathan E. Stewart, for damages stemming from the vessel's 2016 grounding and fuel spill in the nation's traditional territory near Bella Bella, British Columbia.
The Heiltsuk Nation said the settlement marks the first resolution in a multi-part effort to recover damages from the October 2016 incident, when the U.S.-owned tug ran aground in Seaforth Channel while towing a fuel barge. The grounding released approximately 29,000 gals. of diesel fuel and 528 gals. lubricants into Qvúqvái, a culturally and economically important harvesting area within Heiltsuk territory.
According to findings from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the grounding was likely caused by the watchkeeper falling asleep while on duty. Investigators also found that fatigue management measures were insufficient to prevent the incident.
In a membership notice issued June 3, Heiltsuk Joint Leadership said the Kirby Corp. will make a $12.2 million payment to the nation once the settlement receives court approval later this year. The agreement also requires company representatives to participate in traditional washing and healing ceremonies in Bella Bella and at Qvúqvái, respectively.
Additionally, Kirby cannot “travel through the inside waters of Heiltsuk Territory without first informing Heiltsuk and discussing a memorandum of understanding on how it would operate in those waters,” according to the Heiltsuk statement.
The Heiltsuk Nation said the spill damaged marine resources, harvesting areas, and sites of deep cultural significance. Community leaders have maintained that the effects extended beyond environmental and economic losses.
“For many community members, the impacts of the spill have not only been environmental and economic, but also cultural and spiritual,” the June 3 notice stated. “Those impacts have continued for years.”
The spill affected habitat used by dozens of harvested species, including Manila clam beds that the nation said generated as much as $200,000 annually for community members before the incident.
Heiltsuk Nation Chief Marilyn Slett has previously estimated that more than $23 million in recovery costs remain outstanding. The nation continues to pursue compensation claims against the federal government and Canada's Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, while also advocating for regulatory reforms that would recognize and compensate Indigenous communities for cultural losses resulting from marine pollution incidents.
Heiltsuk leaders have argued that existing oil spill compensation frameworks fail to account for Indigenous cultural impacts and were developed without meaningful consideration of Indigenous rights and interests.
The settlement follows previous enforcement actions related to the incident. In July 2019, a Canadian court fined Kirby $2.9 million after the company pleaded guilty to violations of the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, and the Pilotage Act stemming from the grounding and spill.
