Cormorant to leave Bridgewater

The federal government has issued a request for proposals to remove the derelict former navy ship HMCS Cormorant from the Port of Bridgewater.

It states that the Canadian Coast Guard Atlantic region “has the urgent requirement” to have all bulk pollutants removed from the vessel. The ship must be prepared to tow to a dismantling and recycling facility, and dismantled.

The vessel has been tied up in Bridgewater for about 20 years.

“It arrived before my time but it didn’t take long after it arrived that the community wanted it gone so the better part of 18 years the community has been fighting to have it removed,” said Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell.

With the RFP issued, “That’s progress,” said Mitchell.

“Any news that moves this one step closer to removal is good news," he said. "We’re pretty happy with things the way they are progressing.”

South Shore-st. Margarets MP Minister Bernadette Jordan, who holds the Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard portfolio, said “from the beginning, we have been clear: the removal of the Cormorant from the water is a priority.”

Jordan said the vessel is currently secured at dock in Bridgewater and is in the care and control of the Canadian Coast Guard, which will review the proposals received when the RFP closes.

“Our ports are not dumping grounds — they are hubs for community and industry," she said. "The Cormorant is contributing to neither, and for that reason, we are doing everything we can to remove it responsibly."

According to the RFP, a maximum of nine months will be allowed to complete the job of removing bulk pollutants from the vessel, preparing it for towage to a dismantling and recycling facility, and final dismantling and recycling of the vessel.

A condition survey, pollution risk assessment and towage assessment report of the Cormorant conducted by London Offshore Consultants on July 10 and 27, 2019, which is attached to the RFP, conservatively estimates “there is approximately 6,500 litres of oil remaining in tanks and at least 8,500 litres of contaminated water on the vessel located in the diesel generator compartment, propulsion machinery room, gas mixing compartment and various common spaces aft end of deck 2.”

In addition, a total of 116,694 litres of water contained within tanks was identified.

"Most of these tanks are designated as fuel tanks. The quality of this water cannot be verified. For costing purposes all the water contained within tanks is assumed to be contaminated with oil until proven otherwise,” she said.

The report also states: “Ballast water placed in the fuel tanks may contain oil in excess of 15ppm as we can find no record of the fuel tanks having been cleaning prior to ballasting.”

The Cormorant is owned by two companies — the Port of Bridgewater and 3092714 Nova Scotia Limited. Rick Welsford is the only director of both companies.