Barge carrying 20,000 litres of fuel grounded north of Tuktoyaktuk

A barge carrying 20,000 litres of fuel has run aground north of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.

A tugboat and barge were approaching the communityon Saturday when the barge grounded on a sandbar.

The crew of the boat tried to free it, but the weather turned bad, with 40-knot winds and three-metre-high seas.

The barge eventually came off the sandbar, but the crew didn't have a line on it, so it drifted and ran aground again this time on Toker Point, about 25 kilometres north of Tuktoyaktuk.

The crew was forced to abandon their efforts and head to Tuktoyaktuk to refuel, according to Niels Gram, president of Fathom Marine, the company that owns the barge and tugboat.

He says the barge is intact and not leaking any of its cargo.

"This was confirmed by the Coast Guard, which had a helicopter in the area and flew over the barge," says Gram

"There was no risk of spill or further damage to the barge. It was simply a recovery effort at that point."

Gram says the tugboat and another vessel are trying to pull the barge loose.

He says they're waiting for high tide to lift the barge enough to free it, which he hopes will happen on Tuesday evening.