A tender issued earlier this month to remove an “eyesore” from a river in Bridgewater, N.S., has come to a close.
Three ships tied up at the former government wharf on the LaHave River will be removed, deconstructed and disposed of to “permanently eliminate the threat of pollution posed,” a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada says.
“They’ve been an eyesore for over a decade and obviously an environmental risk as well,” says David Mitchell, Bridgewater’s mayor. “Also, they’re in the way of that property being fully developed out into something really quite beautiful.”
The three vessels — the Hannah Atlantic, Ryan Atlantic II (Cape Rouge) and Rupert Brand VI — are just some of the 40 in Ottawa’s national inventory of wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels in Nova Scotia.
Across Canada, there are 1,489 on the federal government’s radar, with more than 1,000 in waters off B.C.
Mitchell says there’s been so much work done to clean up the LaHave River already.
But “it can’t be truly a cleaner river if these ships are sitting there, they’re listing, they’re touching the bottom,” he says.
“We don’t know what fluids remain in them, so, to have them gone completely just means that we can truly look forward to a day where we can be back on the river.”
Ottawa says each of the vessels has posed “marine environmental risks” over the last number of years, resulting in numerous instances of coast guard and contractor intervention, ultimately leading to unnecessary costs.
Global News reported on concerns about the vessels Sept. 18. A tender was issued Nov. 3 and closed on Monday.
Former MP, minister’s advocacy
Mitchell says it couldn’t have happened without Bernadette Jordan, the former minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and South Shore—St. Margarets MP.
“When I first ran (for office) in 2015, I heard a lot about abandoned vessels in this riding particularly,” she says, “not only here at the Port of Bridgewater, but also in Shelburne County with the Farley Mowat. So, I had decided that that was going to be an issue that I tackled.”
The Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act came into effect in 2019.
“I’m not sure we would be having this conversation if she hadn’t at least pushed that through the House (of Commons),” Mitchell says.
“It was never illegal to just walk away from (vessels),” Jordan says. “It was just a matter of, people were able to leave these vessels wherever they wanted. Now, it’s illegal to do. There needs to be registration in place now for vessels so that people know who owned them. Whenever they do decide they’re going to walk away, there is a recourse to fine the people.
“Not only are they being taken away from areas, they’re being dismantled,” Jordan says. “And that is huge.”
“They can’t be sold to somebody else to be left somewhere else, for somebody else to deal with.”
A Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesperson says officials “encourage members of the public to report suspected marine pollution and hazards to our 24-7 reporting line 1-800-565-1633.”
Housing plans in the works
A development company took over the former government wharf and surrounding area — 2.91 hectares of land — about three years ago.
Jacob Ritchie, the president of United Gulf Developments Ltd., says the tender for the vessels is good news.
“It makes a difference for how we talk about the site, for sure,” Ritchie says in an interview. “And certainly, when we talk to community, it’s a different perspective on the space when the river isn’t encumbered by those ships.”
While plenty of work remains, United Gulf is hoping to build housing and commercial space on the land.
“We’re just in design development. We have a concept for what we would allow. I think there is allowance for a few hundred units in the policy just based on the acreage that we have. But we haven’t formalized that to a proposal to the municipality yet.”
Ritchie says United Gulf will present to council when they’re ready, but more design work is needed in 2024.
Comments