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Town moves forward to remove derelict vessels from Ladysmith Harbour

Ladysmith, October 24, 2017 - The Town of Ladysmith is taking strong steps to address the serious issue of derelict and abandoned boats in the Ladysmith Harbour by applying to receive funding for the assessment and removal of derelict vessels through Transport Canada's Abandoned Boats Program. The federal program provides grant and contribution funding to assist in the removal of abandoned and/or wrecked small boats posing a hazard in Canadian waters.

In conjunction with the funding proposal, the Town has issued a public notice to take possession and remove vessels under section 20 of the federal Navigation Protection Act. The public notice outlines the Town's plans to remove nine abandoned and wrecked boats from Ladysmith-area waters, unless the owners move the vessels from their current locations to an authorized area.

"Derelict and abandoned vessels present a grave threat to our harbour - their removal remains a priority for the Town," said Ladysmith Mayor Aaron Stone. "In addition to being unsightly, derelict boats leach a variety of environmental toxins into the water, create serious navigational hazards, and adversely affect the environment, public safety and local economies, including that of our Stz'uminus First Nation partners, who rely on a 150,000 pound annual oyster license in the Ladysmith Harbour."

Mayor Stone added that this is an important first step, but there is still much work to do to clean up derelict and abandoned vessels in the harbour.

The list of derelict vessels includes:

• 8.5m x 2.9m Pleasure Craft - white. Abandoned and wrecked, Slack Point
• Partial vessel roof - white and black. 5.3m x 2.3m, Slack Point
• Pleasure Craft - Possibly white but obscured by heavy marine growth, 7.5m x 2.8m, Slack Point
• Burnt deck - 4m vicinity of Small Craft Harbour Dock
• Pleasure Craft - Burnt - original colour appears white; 22m x 4.6m, inboard / partially visible
• Pleasure Craft - red and blue, 10m x 3.0m
• Blue Hull, vicinity of Small Craft Harbour Dock
• Burnt Hull, vicinity of Small Craft Harbour Dock
• Bulwarks – 3m, vicinity of Small Craft Harbour Dock

Another abandoned vessel, the Viki Lyne II, was previously removed from the Ladysmith Harbour in October 2016 in response to significant community pressure and growing concern about the environmental threat it posed.

Updates and additional information will be found on our website.