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A vast problem: Coast guard floats new solution to abandoned boat problem

Officials putting names to vessels and beginning to hold owners accountable
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The retired BC Ferries vessel Queen of Sidney, that was in operation from 1960 to 2000, is seen moored on the Fraser River, in Mission, B.C., on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The Canadian government鈥檚 inventory of more than 1,700 wrecked, abandoned or hazardous boats includes a U.S. warship, a derelict floating McDonald鈥檚 known as the McBarge, a human-smuggling ship and an old BC Ferries vessel rotting on the Fraser River. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Canadian government鈥檚 inventory of wrecked, abandoned or hazardous boats includes a U.S. warship, a derelict floating McDonald鈥檚 known as the McBarge, a human-smuggling ship and an old BC Ferries vessel rotting on the Fraser River.

But the most problematic aren鈥檛 the well-known vessels with colourful histories 鈥 it鈥檚 the fleet of mystery craft that have dogged the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada for years.

The inventory has more than 1,700 entries, about 70 per cent of them in B.C., ranging from abandoned dinghies to yachts and fishing vessels. Many have opaque ownership, testing the skills of coast guard investigators. Some are of unknown origin. Others, said one wharf keeper, may have been abandoned by owners who took to the water during the 鈥淐OVID era鈥 but found themselves unable to keep up with expenses.

Now there鈥檚 new impetus to putting owners鈥 names to the vessels.

In late June, the coast guard imposed its first fine under the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, a 2019 law that empowers authorities to penalize owners of boats that are hazardous to marine environments and public safety.

The owner of a wrecked cabin cruiser, the Akoo, which had washed ashore on Vancouver Island was fined $15,000 after being targeted by a coast guard compliance and enforcement program established in April, said Paul Barrett, the agency鈥檚 superintendent of compliance and enforcement.

Barrett said the vessel was anchored in Cadboro Bay in Victoria before wind washed it ashore on a popular beach and owner Ryan Brackenbury failed to establish a salvage plan.

鈥淲e鈥檙e less worried about eyesores. What we鈥檙e worried about with this act in particular is hazards,鈥 Barrett said.

He said the Akoo had been a problem for months having drifted ashore, discharging pollution as its hull deteriorated.

Barrett said he didn鈥檛 know Brackenbury鈥檚 personal circumstances, but court records and social media posts show struggles with homelessness, keeping the Akoo afloat, and a history of run-ins with the law.

Brackenbury, 43, said in an interview that he believes his boat was deliberately cut loose, calling the fine a 鈥渧indictive鈥 move by the coast guard that he plans to appeal.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not even my boat, like it鈥檚 not registered to me,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 really prove that it鈥檚 mine.鈥

Brackenbury said he proposed a way of removing the Akoo from the beach, but the coast guard didn鈥檛 accept his plan.

He said he鈥檚 studying social work at Camosun College, living off disability payments and living aboard boats is his only option, because he is unable to afford a rental home.

鈥淚鈥檝e had my name on the BC Housing thing for a couple years now and I haven鈥檛 had any luck,鈥 Brackenbury said. 鈥淪o, you know, this (living on boats) is the best option.鈥

Barrett said the challenge when they receive a report of an abandoned vessel is 鈥渏ust trying to determine ownership, which takes a fair amount of investigative skills.鈥

Some vessels require registration, but records might not always reflect a current and accurate chain of ownership, while smaller boats that end up abandoned don鈥檛 require registration.

鈥淚f a vessel鈥檚 been left for a really long time, the registries might have lapsed and might not be valid anymore,鈥 Barrett said.

Some vessels on the inventory of wrecked and abandoned vessels have well-documented histories, including the MV Sun Sea, intercepted off Vancouver Island after smuggling 492 Sri Lankan migrants in 2010.

Also listed is the Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski, a U.S. warship that sank south of Prince Rupert in 1946 that prompted a multimillion-dollar cleanup effort when it began leaking oil a decade ago.

Then there鈥檚 the Queen of Sidney, a former BC Ferries vessel sold off in 2002 that now sits abandoned on the Fraser River near Mission, east of Vancouver.

Transport Canada keeps a bulletin board of 鈥渧essels of concern,鈥 but the few entries on the list show the federal government is trying to find their owners before removing or disposing of the watercraft.

Nico Preston, a wharf keeper, or wharfinger, with the Capital Regional District on Mayne Island, said there are many reasons vessels end up abandoned.

鈥淚 imagine there are going to be a lot of abandoned boats from kind of the COVID era, where a lot of people got into boating and then had lost interest or became unable to keep up with the costs of keeping a boat on the water,鈥 Preston said. 鈥淭hen there鈥檚 also limited moorage available. It鈥檚 difficult to find a place to dock a boat that鈥檚 protected. You know, there鈥檚 only so many protected harbours in British Columbia.鈥

He said the so-called live-aboard community, those who drop anchor in open waters near shorelines and live on their boats, gets unfairly blamed for problematic vessels. Many abandoned boats are unoccupied and may be from defunct fishing operations or owned by companies that have gone bankrupt, he said.

Preston said his views are 鈥渧ery nuanced鈥 because he鈥檚 known a wide range of people who 鈥減ly the seas.鈥

鈥淪ome vessels that you think might be neglected are in fact cared for within someone鈥檚 means, whereas the luxury yacht hasn鈥檛 moved in five years, (that) kind of thing,鈥 he said.

John Roe, a longtime mariner in Victoria, started the Dead Boats Society after helping seize and dispose of 鈥渘umerous鈥 problematic vessels over the years.

He said many boats end up abandoned due to 鈥渦rban pressures,鈥 with marina space in short supply.

鈥淭he prices have gone up exponentially. I can鈥檛 afford to keep a boat in the marina myself, so none of my boats are in the water right now,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no economical way to dispose of these things. There just isn鈥檛.鈥

Roe said his work to clean up waterways that began in the late 1990s has been supported by heavy industry, and it鈥檚 a positive step that the coast guard has tools to deal with hazardous boats tainting marine environments.

鈥淲e can govern what happens, both municipally and provincially, and federally what happens in our water,鈥 Roe said. 鈥淪o, we just need to say, 鈥榶our rotten old boat鈥檚 got to go.鈥欌

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