Group calls for regulation of derelict BC Ferries

Environmental activists are calling for government action to prevent owners of ships and boats from treating British Columbia as a maritime dumping ground.

The complaints stem from people fed up with down-and-out decommissioned ferries rusting away on the province’s waterways.

Scott Henshaw of the Future of Howe Sound Society said he’s been worried about the Queen of Saanich, which has been moored in the sound since last December.

Henshaw said since the story of derelict vessels was first reported it has received some attention, but not enough.

The Queen of Saanich will hoist what’s left of its anchor and head for Mexico after being sold for a third time to a U.S. firm.

“[The ferry] looks like it’s been patched up,” said Henshaw. “The cracks in the hull have been marked and welded up.”

Henshaw is calling for provincial action to discourage owners from storing the marine eyesores on the shores of B.C.

But B.C. Ferries CEO Mike Corrigan said his corporation already does its best to sell used ferries to responsible owners.

He said the corporation’s responsibility only goes so far.

“If you sold your car five years ago, are you still responsible for it today?” he asked.

Henshaw said a deposit system for those who purchase a ferry would be a good start.

“They post a bond when it’s built,” he suggested. “You don’t get to reclaim the bond until it is disposed of properly.”

B.C. Environment MinisterTerry Lakesaid working out who bears responsibility for the abandoned ships is complicated because of overlapping jurisdictions between governments.

But Lake said most of the responsibility lies with the Federal Ministry of Transport.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger