Lifeboat vandalized

Richmond’s volunteer marine rescue service is out of action after an act of vandalism.

During a routine daily inspection of the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 10 on Friday, volunteers discovered the damaged vessel inside their boat house on the Fraser River’s middle arm.

The tubes had been punctured with a screw and gasoline had been poured all over the deck of the vessel, rendering it inoperable for crew members.

Even more sinister, however, was the precise snipping of the vessel’s hydraulic steering lines, which could have proved disastrous had the crew tried to take the boat out on a mission.

“(The hydraulic) lines are very small and someone would have to know their way around a boat to do this; I doubt this was some young punk,” said the station’s Brian Hobbs.

To gain access to the vessel, the vandals cut through a front gate lock before prying open a second locked door.

The vessel is a community-owned boat that serves the waters around Richmond. In 2013, its crew was tasked to 39 missions, almost half of them in support of the Canadian Coast Guard.

The Strait of Georgia Marine Rescue Society is offering a $500 reward for information leading to any arrest.

Anyone with information about the incident should call Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212.