Ship that carried hundreds of migrants to Canada now a floating toxic stew

OTTAWA — The MV Sun Sea carried nearly 500 Tamil migrants to Canada eight years ago, but now the rusting cargo ship sits forlornly on the B.C. coast — an unwanted vessel of toxins including asbestos, PCBS and mould, documents reveal.

The federal government, which has been stuck with the rickety ship for years, is looking for an “environmentally sound’’ and cost-effective way of getting rid of it.

The Public Services and Procurement Department recently issued a request for feedback from industry on how to dismantle and dispose of the 38-year-old steel ship with an infamous past. Organizers of the MV Sun Sea’s 2010 voyage from strifetorn Sri Lanka promised passage in return for $20,000 to $30,000 per person. Federal authorities intercepted the vessel, which has been moored at a Public Services facility in Delta, B.C., since 2012. No owner of the ship could be identified, and no one wanted to buy it.