Canada

A U.S.-bound cargo ship was damaged and is taking on water near Bella Bella on B.C.'s Central Coast, officials say.

The Canadian Coast Guard said it received a report from the Malolo tugboat around 10:15 a.m. PT Tuesday that the freight barge it was towing was taking on water.

Officials say the boat was going from Alaska to Seattle, Wash., when it was damaged, and there were no reports of pollution as of Tuesday night near Bella Bella, which is around 480 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

William Housty, the director of the Heiltsuk First Nation's integrated resource management department, told CBC News that they received reports that the barge was taking on water in the Fisher Channel, around 15 kilometres east of Bella Bella.

"The dive surveys showed that the hull on one part of the barge was compromised, so they must have hit the ground at some point," he said.