The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Coast Guard cleans up its mess,
On Nov. 20, Bernadette Jordan, the Liberal MP for South ShoreSt. Margarets, was sworn in as the minister of fisheries and oceans and the minister responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard.
That same day, a notice was posted that the coast guard was taking action to deal with the former HMCS Cormorant. It has been an eyesore on the Bridgewater waterfront, in Jordan's riding, since the ship was first moored to the wharf by the Artificial Reef Society of Nova Scotia in 2002.
In June, Jordan announced an assessment of the ship would take place, possibly for its removal under the new Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act. Stephen Bornais, a communications adviser with DFO, informed me that "the contractor completed a technical assessment of the vessel in October. The assessment found that the vessel poses an immediate threat of pollution."
A copy of the assessment could not be released, with the coast guard citing "commercially sensitive information" contained within it.
At a technical briefing Monday, David Yard, superintendent of environmental response with the coast guard, indicated that the assessment brought up two main concerns. The first was with the deteriorated condition of mooring lines and the second was from water ingress. The coast guard was concerned the vessel would sink again.
Yard said that Phase 1 work completed by the coast guard included replacing mooring lines and fenders, and pumping out 19,000 litres of oily water from the bilges, and 13,000 litres of water from the second deck that had entered the ship through openings above the waterline. With the water removed, the stern of the ship was about 30 centimetres higher, and a noticeable list to starboard was reduced. Divers also welded plates over the aft sea chests, which are inlets for water used by shipboard machinery. Those inlets were the source of the water that caused the ship to sink in 2015.
At the time of the 2015 sinking, ownership of the vessel was in question, prompting the coast guard to act. The ship was refloated, and 5,850 litres of waste oil from the engine room bilge and 350 litres of hydraulic oil were removed. The aft sea chests were plugged with wood. As no owner was readily identified, the coast guard filed a claim with the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund to recover its costs.
The ownership issue was subject to litigation in Federal Court, which concluded in November with a consent order stating that the ship is owned by a numbered corporation and the Port of Bridgewater.
If an assessment conducted between August and October determined there was an immediate threat of pollution, one must ask why no action was taken before Nov. 20. There is nothing that would have prevented the coast guard from placing oil booms around the vessel and attaching new mooring lines if they were identified as a risk, especially considering the storm Dorian passed through the area in September.
The ownership situation in place in 2015 also calls into question the actions of the coast guard during the initial sinking. If there was no apparent owner to take responsibility for the vessel, why were permanent seals not placed over the sea chests?
Phase 1 work finished Sunday. Phase 2, the removal of the vessel's pollution risk, will be ongoing. Though it was not said outright, that implies vessel disposal.
In other harbour news:
• Mario Pelletier was named the new commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, with the distinction of being the first commissioner to be a graduate of the Canadian Coast Guard College. Pelletier has spent 34 years with the agency.
• Develop Nova Scotia has issued an RFI looking for boat providers to ferry people to and from Georges Island between July and October next summer. The season is expected to run from mid-May to October in subsequent years, once wharf construction is complete.
• The container ship MSC Eleni made a special call to Halifax last weekend. Bound for Montreal, the ship needed to discharge containers to meet draft restrictions on the Saint Lawrence. The containers were placed on a train for Montreal and should beat the ship by several days.