The beleaguered barge that’s been stranded on the shores of Vancouver’s English Bay will soon be gone.
Work is underway to remove the barge, which has been lodged at Sunset Beach since it broke free of its moorings during the powerful storms that devastated southwestern B.C. in November.
On Wednesday, demolition crews began the work of cutting the barge’s walls and hull into sections and physically removing them.
Large metal panels from the barge’s south end were sliced off with cutting tools, and lifted by a crane mounted on a floating support barge for removal by sea.
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Earlier this week, Vancouver Pile Driving, the contractor who is managing the job, installed piles along the shoreline to anchor the barge while the demolition work is undertaken.
The job is estimated to take 12 to 15 weeks to complete, with crews pausing for the coming B.C. Day long weekend.
The removal company said after the long weekend a demolition excavator will be lifted onto the barge to remove the bin walls.
The seawall in the area will remain open during the deconstruction, though the worksite has been fenced off.
Sentry Marine Towing, which owns the barge, is responsible for the removal costs.
In the nine months it has been stranded at the beach, the barge has become a popular spot for selfies, along with the butt of numerous jokes and memes including a parody of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.