A heavy barge meant for visitor accommodation that sank Friday in picturesque Gowlland Harbour at Quadra Island appears to be abandoned, raising the question of who will take responsibility for it.
The two-storey barge is now partially submerged, with one end resting on the seabed.
Windows are broken and pieces of furniture, lounge chairs and other items are floating out of the rooms. Locals say it’s an eyesore and could become a hazard to boaters.
If a vessel hit debris, it could cause “serious damage,” Quadra Island resident Jim Abram, a director on the Strathcona Regional District, said Thursday.
Abram is particularly concerned that winter storms will tear the barge loose, creating a “battering ram throughout the harbour.”
He said the barge likely now qualifies as a wreck and therefore falls under Canada’s Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act.
Under that act, the federal government can “take action to remove a vessel or wreck posing a hazard, if the owner is unknown, or is unable or unwilling to respond,” according to a government information pamphlet.
The federal government also has funding programs to help pay to remove derelict vessels.
Abram is encouraging citizens to call the Navigable Waters Protection division of Transport Canada at 1-604-775-8867 and quote file #0179VOC, saying the barge is a hazard to navigation and a Transport Canada responsibility.
He has heard the barge arrived at Quadra Island after being towed from Point Roberts, Washington.
Local Good Samaritans worried about potential damage to nearby docks have pumped out the barge to keep it afloat in the past, Abram said.
It has been tied up on a Crown water lot held by a numbered company listed as the owner of 774 Cliffe Rd., where the Seascape Waterfront Resort is located.
The two-acre property was sold under a court-ordered sale in April 2017, and is now back on the market, listed at $2.8 million. The marketing brochure says it is not currently being operated. It includes 11 rental units in six buildings, a log pavilion and docks.
A photograph of the property includes the barge.
Provincial government documents show the property is owned by 1098212 B.C. Ltd. Its director is listed as Irene Wenngatz of Langley, who could not be immediately reached.
Abram said the barge’s location extends past the water tenure and he spent many months discussing the situation with provincial lands officers.
This summer, a trespass notice under Section 59 of the provincial Land Act was posted on the building on the barge.
The notice stated that the barge must be removed, which did not happen, Abram said.
A salvage company looked at the barge and estimated it would cost a minimum of $250,000 just to pull it off the ocean floor, Abram said.
When the barge sank on Friday, the Quadra Island Volunteer Fire Department, RCMP and Canadian Coast Guard all showed up. “We responded to it but there was nothing we could do,” Chief Sharon Clandenning said. “It was too far gone.”
The cause of the sinking was not clear. “Nobody really knows. It just started taking on water,” she said.
A Canadian Coast Guard environmental response crew examined the site after the sinking and did not see any pollution, spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau said in an email.
She said the barge is currently stable, partially submerged and sitting on the ocean floor.
Because there is low risk of pollution, the matter has been handed to the coast guard’s Vessels of Concern Program.
Next steps include staff from the program assessing whether the barge falls under their authority and working with other jurisdictions to determine what to do, Imbeau said.
