Crews refloat sabotaged Corporal McLaren
HALIFAX — The Canadian Coast Guard has refloated one of its ships, named after a Peterborough soldier killed in action in Afghanistan 10 years ago, after it was cut from its cradle at a Nova Scotia shipyard over a week ago.
The CCGS Corporal McLaren had been partially submerged with 2,600 litres of diesel fuel in its tanks and 400 litres of hydraulic fluid on board after it was allegedly sabotaged in an incident reported to police Nov. 17.
Keith Laidlaw, the Coast Guard’s deputy superintendent for environmental response, says the operation started Monday afternoon and was complete by late evening, after the shipyard and salvage team pumped thousands of litres of water out of its hold.
Laidlaw says raising the vessel occurred without any spills or environmental damage.
A boom was put in place around the vessel at Sambro Head, a coastal community 30 kilometres south of Halifax that is home to fishing vessels and a fish processing plant.
The vessel was discovered on its side in the water after being released from its secured cradle and sliding down a slip at the shipyard.
Halifax Regional Police said the slip had been damaged, and a shipyard employee reported that a cable on the ship’s cradle and an additional safety cable had been cut clean through.
Laidlaw said removing the water has been a slow process, involving 13 to 20 people each day.
The ship, named after Cpl. Mark McLaren of Peterborough who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008, entered service in 2013 and was officially dedicated in 2014.
Cpl. McLaren was killed on Dec. 5, 2008 when his RG31 patrol vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. The blast threw the hull of the vehicle several metres, likely instantly killing all the occupants.
He was awarded the Medal of Military Valour posthumously for his actions on Nov. 6, 2008 when his Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar.