PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia — Canadian coast guard officials secured a towline to a Russian container ship carrying hundreds of tons of fuel as it drifted without power in rough seas off British Columbia’s pristine northern coast. The move lessened the threat of the ship running aground, hitting the rocks and causing a spill.

The Canadian Forces’ joint rescue coordination center said the Russian carrier Simushir lost power off Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, as it made its way from Everett in Washington state to Russia.

The Council of the Haida Nation said the Coast Guard Ship Gordon Reid managed to secure a towline and the two vessels were moving away from the coastline at Gwaii Haanas at 1.5 knots.

The statement noted the situation remained highly tenuous, and the outcome was subject to weather. Another coast guard ship was expected to arrive early Saturday and attempt to assist in towing the vessel to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, depending on weather.

Sub Lt. Melissa Kia of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt said early Saturday the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfrid Laurier and U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spar were due to arrive at the scene, along with the ocean going tug Barbara Foss, later Saturday morning.

The ship, originally nine miles offshore, was drifting northwest in stormy seas Friday, away from shore, but Roger Girouard, an assistant commissioner with the Canadian Coast Guard, said it had no propulsion. The ship lost power late Thursday, officials said.

The fear of oil spills is especially acute in British Columbia, where residents remember the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989.

Such worries have fed fierce opposition to a current proposal to build a pipeline that would carry oil from Canada’s Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast for shipment to Asia.