An oil tanker has been anchored off Cape Breton since Sunday because of concerns several crew members may have contracted COVID-19.
Karl Risser, Atlantic inspector for the International Transport Workers Federation, said today one crew member on the STI San Telmo
has tested positive and is in quarantine in a Sydney, N.S., hotel.
Risser says he’s been told another seven members of the crew have also tested positive for COVID-19.
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He says the oil tanker was headed to Montreal from Antwerp, Belgium, and that his union, which represents foreign seafarers, will monitor the situation until the ship gets permission to move.
Transport Canada spokeswoman Cybelle Morin said Wednesday in an email the agency is aware of potential cases of COVID-19 involving a foreign-flagged vessel, adding that the ship can leave when it gets the go-ahead from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The health agency was not immediately available for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2021.
