Work to secure a derelict vessel in the LaHave River has wrapped up.
Phase one of operations were finished Sunday evening, which saw Canadian Coast Guard officials and divers install eight new 60-metre mooring lines and docking fenders, and pump 18,300 litres of bilge water out of the ship’s hull.
David Yard, CCG’s Atlantic regional superintendent of the environmental response unit, says the work began after concerns were raised about the ship’s condition during a pollution threat assessment which began in August.
“We collected a bunch of data from that assessment, but there were a number of hazards were our respondents couldn’t get safely through the vessel,” he said.
“So based on the data that we did collect, we identified the two priorities for phase one.”
Yard says those priorities included insuring the ship would not break away from the dock and draining the ship of water and pollutants to fix the noticeable list to one side.
The Canadian Coast Guard has now moved onto phase two operations.
Yard says phase two will see them search for a permanent solution for the ship, but that could take some time.
“We have a number of legal, operational and contractual issues we’ve got to address first,” he said.
“We also have further analysis to do on the data we’ve received, because that will impact the type of operation we run. Once we get through all that, we will be in a better spot to talk timelines.”
Yard says the outcome of phase two could include removal of the ship from the river, but couldn’t specify on when or how.
