The ship’s owner says the next chapter in the British Gulf barge’s story could begin next month.
Sentry Marine Towing, Ltd., owns the barge that has run aground on Sunset Beach since it was moored in mid-November.
On Sunday, the company’s owner told CTV News the latest plan to move the barge off the beach is to cut it into pieces and move it with a crane.
The company says that effort will be “a fair amount of work” and could take weeks after it’s started. Currently, the company is awaiting approval of its plan from various regulators, but the owner said he expects those approvals to go through and the removal could begin “within the month”. to or so.”
CTV News has reached out to the City of Vancouver and Transport Canada for more information about their respective roles in the removal plan.
In the two and a half months since it washed up on the beach, the barge has become part of Vancouver lore. It has been the subject of mocking social media accounts and verbal tourist reviews. It became the setting for wedding proposals and a focal point for protests over colonialism and reconciliation.
It is also a stark and forever reminder of the effects of climate change, which will not be affected as it did in the midst of a major hurricane in history that devastated much of the Southwest BC.
Sentry Marine attempted to use a tug to move the barge the next day when it became stranded, but the stranded ship remained motionless.
When asked why scrapping a barge is no longer the preferred option, the company told CTV News that the cost of each option – removing all or pieces – is similar and removing ships individually. piece is less risky than removing the whole.
The owner explained that trying to tow the barge away could cause it to sink.
