Two months with Vancouver's washed-up barge: Are removal plans stuck?
Two months after a runaway barge got stuck on Vancouver’s shores during a series of historic storms, plans to recover the vessel remain on the rocks.
“The removal is a complex issue, with several factors to consider in addition to tide levels, including safety, security and environmental protection,” Transport Canada’s Sau Sau Liu wrote in an email to CTV News.
Following several failed attempts to remove the barge, it remains grounded between English Bay and Sunset Beach, where it first parked on Nov. 15, 2021. It’s gained celebrity status to the point that, as recently as Sunday, “Barge on the Beach” T-shirts were selling for $20 each on the nearby seawall.
Transport Canada reiterated Monday that the owner is responsible for removing the vessel. CTV News reached out to Sentry Marine Towing Ltd several times for comment, with no success.
“It’s a complex situation,” said the City of Vancouver’s Jeannine Guérette, mimicking the language from federal officials. “Many considerations are being taken into account including safety and environmental protection."
The city is tracking all costs related to the barge, and plans to bill the owner for reimbursement, Guérette added.
In the meantime, one Canada Research Chair professor warned the barge could put nearby ecosystems at risk.
“There’s surely chemicals on board that could leach out, and the amount of rust that could occur in salt water over a couple of months is probably enough to affect nearby ecosystems,” said Kai Chan, a professor at UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES).
Many problems like this, Chan argued, comes down to a lack of transparency with environmental data.
“We’re just left completely in the dark,” said Chan, adding that Transport Canada has a lot of problems to solve in B.C. “It’s amazing how long governments can let crap like this go on. If it’s not killing anybody, it’s the kind of thing they can ignore for years and years.”
The barge has also renewed discussions over reconciliation efforts, in the wake of Vancouver’s park board putting up a temporary “Barge Chilling Beach” sign in the area on Dec.15.
Someone spray-painted the word “Í7iy̓el̓shn,” which social media users identified as a local Indigenous name for the area, onto the sign on Jan. 3, and again this past weekend. On Twitter, members of the Indigenous community explained why the park board's sign isn’t amusing for everyone.
“This barge sign was a fun joke but the work of decolonizing isn’t fun, it’s been harmful to be Indigenous to Vancouver yet utterly erased,” Ginger Gosnell-Myers, a fellow with SFU’s Urban Indigenous Policy/Planning, wrote after the first graffiti incident. Vancouver has faced growing calls to post signage acknowledging and reflecting traditional Indigenous names in the city.
Following the same incident, Vancouver Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung tweeted, “I’m so fed up. This sign was a small thing that provided some levity & smiles during a tough time. We need more kindness, not the opposite."
Depending on who is asked, the barge is a perceived affront to reconciliation; a silly backdrop for selfies and marriage proposals; a stark reminder of climate change sticking out like a sore thumb in downtown Vancouver.
Or, as the city puts it, it's a "complex situation" that’s short on solutions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.