February 7, 1970

Mr. Partridge, upon arriving at the wreck that morning found that the steam which had been raised during the night had been let go because the Chief and Second Engineers were exhausted and unable to maintain watch. As they argued, Mr. Partridge suddenly heard a terrific bang and felt a violent shudder of the ship. This meant to him that the ship had broken her back and he rushed to the deck to check. He saw that the bow remained stationary while the stern section was going up and down and sideways, independently of the bow.

A diver was put over the side to check the condition of the hull and he discovered that the entire bottom and both sides of the hull were cracked, up to within five feet of the sheer strake which meant that the ship was merely hinged by its deck plates. It was apparent that soon the stern would be separated from the bow by the action of the sea and this posed the possibility of a break-up of the stern and further oil pollution.

Once it was realized that the pumping capability of the "Arrow" would not be available to lighten the cargo and that the "Imperial Acadia's" pumps were not suction pumps, the original plan was dead. After this, Dr. Thomas of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada visited the "Arrow" and found very thick pans of oil, fifty feet in diameter, heading seaward.

Since only a limited government jurisdiction was felt to exist, officials looked only to plug some of the holes through which oil was escaping. On the other hand, Atlantic Salvage, representatives of the ship's owners and its insurers were making every effort to completely remove the cause of the pollution from the tanker. Imperial Oil itself sent their forces to the scene to help contain and clean up the cargo.

By Saturday night, word spread that the Canadian Government had stepped in to take command of the situation. After many small meetings and discussions, it was decided to send crews to the "Arrow" in the morning to determine whether or not it was safe to work in the engine room.