The federal government has filed charges in connection with the English Bay oil spill in Vancouver in 2015.

Transport Canada said in a statement that charges have been laid against the ship that discharged the fuel oil and the company that owns the vessel.

According to the federal transport agency, charges against the M/V Marathassa and its owner, Alassia Alassia NewShips Management Inc., were sworn in Vancouver provincial court on February 15, 2017.

The charges include one count of violation of Section 187 of the Canada Shipping Act of 2001, for unauthorized discharge of a pollutant.

The ship and the company were also slapped with two counts of violation of Section 188 of the shipping law for failing to implement emergency measures following the spill.

Three counts for offences relating to Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations were also laid. These involve failures to report discharge, the quantity of discharged pollutant, and record discharge.

According to Transport Canada, it conducted an investigation and recommended charges for filing by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

The M/V Marathassa is a Panamax-sized bulk grain carrier. The owner, Alassia NewShips Management Inc., is based in Greece. The vessel flies a Cyprus flag.

On April 8, 2015, the Canadian Coast Guard was alerted to a fuel spill in English Bay by a sailing vessel.

According to an independent review commissioned by the Coast Guard about the spill response, the sailing vessel Hali observed a sheen of oil at 4:48 p.m. on that day, and made a report.

The report recalled that although the captain and representatives of the ship “initially denied responsibility, it was subsequently determined in the early morning of April 9, 2015 that the M/V Marathassa had discharged an unknown quantity of intermediate fuel oil … into English Bay on April 8”.

According to the report, the clean-up operation was an “atypical event” for the Coast Guard and the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, a private company certified by Transport Canada to respond to oil spills.

“In this case, the response and clean-up lasted a total of 16 days. Skimming of the fuel oil was conducted immediately and completed on day four, the polluting vessel was boomed in the early morning on April 9, and shoreline clean-up continued until day 16,” the document stated.

The report added that there was “minimal impact on the public from a health and safety perspective”.

The document also noted that according to Environment Canada, “approximately 20 birds were affected".