February 6, 1970

Efforts to raise steam by some of the "Arrow's" crew were meeting with success but were not enough to power any of the ship's equipment. The Chief Engineer advised that he had lost water and it was necessary to let the steam go. An examination revealed that not only the boiler was empty of fresh water but the gravity feed tank above it as well. They would have to pump water from the tanks in the after peak of the ship before steam could be attempted again. Since there was no pump aboard, Mr. Kerr and Mr. Partridge were forced to go to Port Hawkesbury at 5 a.m. to obtain the necessary equipment.

Soon the vessel "Foundation Valiant", Department of Transport, Imperial Oil and Salvage Company officials came on board. The party saw a hole in the hatch coaming over the No. 4 tank which was gushing a stream of oil about the size of a man's arm. As the sea washed over the fore deck, spurts of oil could be seen coming from the vent pipe and flowing into the water.

One of Atlantic Salvage's divers unsuccessfully tried to plug the holes by inserting wedges in the hatch coaming of the No. 4 tank. The pipe could not stand the wedges and soon broke when they were hammered in, and since the diver was working underwater against the action of the waves, he was unable to continue his attempts. The ship appeared to be breaking up so everyone present agreed the only alternative was to transfer the cargo to another ship.

Concern over the effect of spilled oil on the fishery was growing among senior members of the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Transport, as well as Imperial Oil. These representatives defined sensitive fishing areas and discussed burning, booming, and chemically dispersing oil. Imperial Oil's big concern was directed towards reports that oil reached the shores of Isle Madame, and efforts were made to obtain suitable booms and straw to counteract this impending danger to the water supply of the fish plants in the area.

Later that afternoon, a Fisheries Department official visited the vicinity of Cerberus Rock. He observed one slick 300 yards wide and three quarters of a mile in length filled with heavy patches of oil one inch thick and six feet in diameter. Another slick was observed at two miles long, and to the west a third slick a quarter mile wide and two miles long with heavy patches of thick oil.