Bridgewater is one step closer to saying ‘so long’ to an ever-lasting eyesore – The Cormorant.
The Canadian Coast Guard has issued a Request for Proposals to have the derelict ship removed from the LaHave River after sitting abandoned at the town’s port for the better part of 20 years.
The RFP was issued on June 30th and will last for 40 days from the issuing date, after which the Coast Guard will review all submitted proposals, said Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard.
“From the beginning, we have been clear: the removal of the Cormorant from the water is a priority,” she said in an e-mail.
“Our ports are not dumping grounds. They are hubs for community and industry. The Cormorant is contributing to neither, and for that reason, we are doing everything we can to remove it responsibly.”
Jordan, who also sits as the MP for South Shore St. Margaret’s, spearheaded the removal of derelict vessels across the province, including the removal of the Farley Mowat in 2017 from Shelburne.
She announced the federal government would conduct an assessment on the Cormorant in 2019 in hopes of kicking off its removal.
In the RFP, the Canadian Coast Guard lists the removal of the boat as urgent, and requests whoever the chosen applicant is be prepared to remove all bulk pollutants in the vessel, prepare the vessel for towing to a dismantling and recycling facility and permanently dismantle the vessel to eliminate the pollution threat it currently poses.
Included with the RFP is the Condition Survey Pollution Risk Assessment conducted last July which estimated a budget of between $1,906,125 and $2,661804 at the time for removal of the pollutants, towing the vessel on its three-day trip to be dismantled, and the final demolition of the ship.
The Coast Guard took control of the ship in late 2019 after a technical assessment deemed it an immediate threat of pollution. In December, crews worked to secure the vessel, repair damage to its hull and pump out pollutants at risk of leaking out.
the RFP states the job will be allotted a maximum of nine months to be completed, and is set to close by August 10th.
More information can be found here.
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