Sinking of 1918 boat raises cleanup calls
A century-old vessel that sank and leaked fuel in Ladysmith Harbour on Saturday is just the latest consequence of the federal government’s inaction on abandoned boats, critics say.
The 90-foot wooden vessel Anapaya went down in the Dogpatch, an area just off the Ladysmith Community Marina that is home to about 30 vessels “in various states of disrepair,” said Rod Smith, executive director of the Ladysmith Maritime Society.
An oily sheen, likely diesel, could be spotted on the water’s surface and the Canadian Coast Guard and Saltair Marine Services quickly set up a boom to contain the spill, Smith said. It’s unclear how many litres of fuel spilled.
Divers with Saltair Marine Services were trying to recover the boat on Tuesday.
The fishing boat, built in 1918, was identified as a “vessel of concern” by Transport Canada in 2014, said Sheila Malcolmson, the NDP MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, yet the vessel was not removed.
“The government knew this vessel poised a significant threat, but took no action until after it was too late,” Malcolmson said in question period at the House of Commons on Tuesday. “What this weekend’s sinking points out is that dealing with abandoned vessels on a boat-by-boat basis is risky for coastal communities,” Malcolmson said in an interview.
Smith said his four years heading the maritime society have been a constant battle dealing with boats that look ready to go under at any moment.
He’s frustrated that Transport Canada did not take any action to remove Anapaya. “They knew the state of this vessel and that it was going to go down,” he said. “The cleanup is going to be a lot more expensive than if it had been hauled away when it was in danger of sinking.” A major fuel spill would have endangered seafood plants in the harbour, Smith said, affecting jobs and First Nations communities.
The vessel is submerged in about 7.5 metres of water with only the stern above the surface, said coast guard spokeswoman Louise Girouard. “It has been reported to the [coast guard] that the vessel has no engine and no fuel in the tanks; however, this has not yet been confirmed.”
Transport Canada did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. In May, Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced an abandoned-boats program that offers $5.6 million over five years to help dispose of derelict vessels. Of that funding, $1.25 million is for education around responsible boat management and boat recycling research.
Malcolmson said $1 million a year for all of Canada is not enough. She noted it cost $1 million to remove one vessel, Viki Lyne II, from Ladysmith Harbour in October 2016. The program also does not address the fact that no single agency is responsible for removing derelict boats, which creates a jurisdictional nightmare, she said.
Malcolmson has tabled legislation that would make the coast guard responsible for directing removal of abandoned vessels, improve vessel registration and test a vessel recycling program.