Coast Guard inventory lists 2,000 abandoned, wrecked watercraft in Canada

In early March, an abandoned and partially sunken pleasure craft at the Scarborough Bluffer’s Park boat launch sent concerned citizens scrambling to have it removed — reaching out to the police, the City of Toronto and even Mayor John Tory’s office.

CityNews found out that the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) along with Transport Canada were the agencies involved with removing “vessels of concern” and the CCG says the boat will be removed this week.

“We issued a direction to the owner and tried to locate that owner. So far they’ve been unresponsive. So that then gives us the opportunity to take action and so we are. There’s a contract that’s in place for that vessel to be removed,” said Robert Brooks, CCG’s director of vessels of concern.

The case draws attention to a widespread problem of abandoned or wrecked watercraft across Canadian shorelines. The Canadian Coast Guard is compiling a national inventory of such vessels to better understand the scope of the problem and better track and report such vessels.

A problem from “coast to coast to coast”

“It is certainly a problem that we see from coast to coast to coast,” said Brooks.

“We’ve now come across about 2,000 vessels that have been reported across Canada.”

That number is expected to grow as more coastal areas are searched.

The vessels of concern inventory falls under the federal government’s $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan announced in 2016. Since then, the government has also passed a law prohibiting the abandonment of watercraft in Canada.

The national inventory will help keep track of any such vessels and prioritize which ones should be dealt with first. The focus is not on removing all problem vessels but rather mitigating the risk posed by each one.

A severely dilapidated boat is seen on the rocks by the Bluffer’s Park boat launch on March 28, 2022. CITYNEWS/Dilshad Burman

How are cases prioritized?

Brooks says there are more than a hundred different variables that are considered when assessing which cases pose the highest risk to the environment or the community, and are therefore the most urgent.

Pollution

One of the first factors that is assessed is whether the vessel is an actively polluting the water it is in.

“Any vessel that is actively polluting is an emergency situation which we’ll address. We’ve got an environmental response program that’s available 24/7, 365 days a year and they will respond and take appropriate action,” explained Brooks.

If there is no evidence of a pollution threat, the CCG collaborates with various agencies, such as the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) or Transport Canada to further evaluate the situation and determine the best course of action.

“The relationships and the information sharing between the jurisdictions is really key in helping round out the picture. Remember that we do have one of the longest coastlines in the world so we can’t be, as the coast guard, in any one particular place or all particular places at any one time, so we rely really heavily on those partnerships” said Brooks.

Contaminants and risk to the public

“Oftentimes, we see that people like to explore abandoned vessels or wrecked vessels, so that is taken into consideration — public access is a factor,” said Brooks.

He added that while you may not see large amounts of oil or gas leaking from the vessel, it is possible that other harmful substances are present that may not be visible or otherwise easily detectable.

“It does require in some cases, some highly specialized skill sets and the appropriate equipment to detect any potential threats, so that is also taken into consideration,” said Brooks.

General characteristics of the area

Brooks says derelict vessels can be an eyesore. If the area is of commercial interest, for example for tourism, people’s livelihoods could be at stake and removal of a vessel in such an area would be prioritized.

The same is true if there are fisheries in the area or there is a risk to municipal drinking water supplies.

Socioeconomic risks and the social concerns of the community are also taken into consideration.

“All of those factors together bring a bigger picture for us. It allows us then to make sure that as we look at the 2,000 vessels that we’re aware of today, we’re putting our finite resources to the right places because that risk certainly needs to be balanced across the country,” said Brooks.

An abandoned pleasure craft sinking at the Bluffer’s Park boat launch, seen on March 28, 2022. CITYNEWS. Dilshad Burman.

How long does it take from report to removal?

Timelines for vessel removal also vary from case to case depending on numerous factors, including how long it takes to contact the owners and for them to respond.

Among the other main considerations is weather — ice formation on the water, snow and storms all affect how soon a craft can be safely removed from a body of water.

Brooks also cites environmental concerns such as sensitive areas for migration of species.

“On the west coast, for example, it’s very vivid to think about the salmon run and the importance to Canadian culture and our economy of the salmon run. We would obviously factor in how we do operations, not to impede that vital resource,” he said. “But the reality of the situation is, anytime something’s assessed as a pollution emergency, if there’s active pollution in the water, there’s no delay.”

In the case of the boat at Bluffer’s Park, Brooks said the process was fairly quick as it met the threshold to take action as soon as possible — it has suspected hydrocarbons on board, it is creating debris and there’s a potential for damage to the boat launch property. Fuel was also seen leaking from the vessel and the TRCA installed preventative floating booms to stop it from spreading.

After waiting a reasonable amount of time for the owner to respond, a contract was awarded for removal of the vessel which requires it to be extracted within 30 days.

“We only have so many resources and so balancing out all considerations, I think that it was a clear case where we could step in and effectively resolve the situation,” said Brooks.

Once out of the water, the boat will be stored for 60 days and if no one claims it, will be disposed of safely.

“One drop of oil in the water from our perspective is one drop too many.”

“We’ve heard the concerns of the community … and I think from a coast guard perspective, we too share those concerns. An abandoned boat is certainly something we’d like to prevent and deal with,” said Brooks.

How to report a problem vessel

Anyone that comes across an abandoned or wrecked vessel is encouraged to contact the Canadian Coast Guard in their local area to report the discovery via their regional 1-800 number or email.

Brooks says phone lines are manned year-round, 24 hours a day.

“We’d be pleased to take that report and certainly put that into our inventory. Every report that we receive goes through our triage system so that we can effectively understand what the situation is, and then make sure that it’s ranked in priority so that it’s dealt with according to its risk,” said Brooks.

He adds that the list is expected to grow and will be “evergreen” as more reports come in. Once a vessel is taken care of, it will be removed from the list.

The national inventory of problem vessels is expected to be made available to the public in the near future.

“As we sort through the inventory list and ensure it’s accuracy, we’d like to be able to share that information so that anybody that has an interest can be informed about what’s going on around their waters,” said Brooks.