Barge adrift on Beaufort Sea almost encircled by sea ice

A U.S. Coast Guard officer says 3,600 litres of diesel on a barge adrift in the Beaufort Sea will be drained once the barge is completely immobilized by winter ice.

Two weeks ago, during a bad storm, the barge owned by the Northern Transportation Company Ltd. broke free of its tow lines near Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., and began drifting.

The U.S. and Canadian coast guards are working together to track the barge.

U.S. Coast Guard Commander Shawn Decker says it's now about 75 kilometres northwest of Pruhdoe Bay, Alaska.

"It was in about 60 to 70 per cent ice coverage," Decker says.

"We call it pancake ice. It's the ice that's just starting to form. But it's starting to encircle the barge and to prevent it from drifting any further."

Decker says the barge could be iced in completely in sixto sevenweeks.

He says it's upright in good condition with no sign that it's leaking.