Tug Boat burns in Sooke

[The Fish Assassin]

From the T/C.

Flames from an abandoned tugboat in Sooke harbour lit up the sky Friday night.

The fire on the 30-metre boat, which has been grounded on a sandbar since heavy windstorms in late 2006 freed it from a nearby dock, broke out at around 8:30 p.m.

“It was quite a spectacular fire,” said Sooke fire chief Steve Sorensen, adding arson could be to blame.

“It appears some individuals, I don’t know who or how many at this point, decided they didn’t want that boat anymore so they lit it on fire,” he said.

Sorensen said it was his understanding Sooke RCMP apprehended several people in their 30s at a nearby marina.

Police could not be reached to confirm this information.

Colin Davenport, a member of the coast guard auxiliary on the scene, said the beached tugboat was derided as an eyesore by many local residents.

“You can see it from just about anywhere in Sooke and even tourists want to know the story about it,” he said. “People are probably getting fed up with seeing it there.”

A coast guard auxiliary boat was called it to help the fire department keep boaters away from the all-wood vessel, which continued to burn Saturday morning. There were no injuries.

Sorensen said the fire department put a 105-metre containment boom around the boat to collect debris as it fell off and ensure it didn’t float onto the beach or into shipping lanes.

He said the boat has lots of garbage on board, but no fuel or oil.

Sorensen said he does not know who owns the boat.

“No one wants to take responsibility to move it, or clean it up or get rid of it,” he said. “There’s probably lots of people that are happy it’s gone, but now we have a big mess to clean up.”

The boat is located on the East Sooke side of the harbour, southwest of the mouth to the Sooke River.

Sorensen said some people have been salvaging items off the boat over the years.

It is also where a Victoria man died last October.

William Thomas Wood, 61, was boating with two companions when they came upon the tugboat. The two companions boarded the tugboat, leaving Wood alone in their boat. When the men returned, they found Wood unconscious and floating in the water.


VIDEO HERE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnT_JtnKyfo&feature=player_embedded

Take only what you need.

 

[splittail]

I was under the impression we knew who the owner of the boat was - a Canadian guy who was also charged/jailed in the US at one time for dumping illegally in the oceans during a ship refit and lived in the Victoria area.

 

[Deewar25]

u know, that article confused me as well - isn't this the tug that grounded (I thought last year?)...don't think it had anything to do with a windstorm. The guy tried to dump it off at Ogden Point and they steered him away and told him to tow it to some salvage place at the beginning of the basin - got stuck on the way and he deserted it. Same boat right? The ugly POS on the far side perhaps across from the walking pier? Only saw it a couple times, so thats just best recollection.

 

[The Fish Assassin]

From the T/C.

The abandoned tugboat that arsonists torched in Sooke harbour Friday night -- and which could cost $120,000 to remove -- was not the first vessel dumped by its owner, a court document reveals.

In an affadavit filed in B.C. Supreme Court last August, Ronald Cook of Victoria confirmed he was the owner of the Florence Filberg and that he had left the 65-year-old tugboat in Sooke harbour. It also stated the District of Sooke wanted to deliver a demand to Cook to remove the vessel, but was unable to locate him.

Two men were arrested after the 38-metre tugboat, which has been grounded at the harbour since November 2007, was set ablaze Friday night.

The affidavit was filed as part of a lawsuit last year against Cook. He was being sued for the unauthorized moorage of a large tugboat called the Pacific Challenge on private property along the Fraser River in Delta. At the time, Cook was living on a sailboat in the Inner Harbour.

The affidavit revealed Cook had previously abandoned a large tugboat called Respect in a California estuary in 2007. Cook also owned the Mary Mackin, a tugboat beached on the shores of Patricia Bay before it was destroyed by fire in July 2004.

The 2008 case concluded when the plaintiffs obtained an order forcing Cook to remove the vessel or face contempt of court charges.

The Times Colonist's attempts to contact Cook via e-mail were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the District of Sooke learned yesterday it could cost $120,000 to remove and dispose of the charred remains of the tugboat.

Although it is not actually beached within the municipality's boundaries, the district is taking the lead on the cleanup because of concern debris could end up on nearby beaches.

The Sooke fire department put a 105-metre containment boom around the vessel Saturday to collect debris.

But Mayor Janet Evans said she has instructed staff to do nothing further until someone comes forward to help pay for the cleanup.

The province has provided the district with $2,500 to cover part of the cost of installing the boom. But Evans said at least 25 other abandoned vessels are in the harbour and Sooke basin.

"People think this is a dumping ground and they bring their vessels and abandon them, and then someone else has to look after them."

The mayor could not say when the cleanup might begin, but noted time is of the essence.

Tides in the area are ebbing now through July 12. Evans said that could help the removal company stabilize the structure, cut it into pieces and remove it.

Once tides rise, the boom surrounding the boat could be compromised, scattering debris across the water and nearby beaches.

Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca MP Keith Martin called the torched tugboat an "environmental time-bomb," and said he sent a letter yesterday to Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, urging her ministry to help pay for the cleanup.

"People are using our oceans as dumping grounds for these boats and they need to be prosecuted and they need to pay for the dumping of derelict boats in our waterways," he said.

Two Sooke residents, ages 34 and 35, were arrested Friday night after a witness pointed them out to Sooke RCMP, who were waiting at a privately owned marina in the harbour.

Cpl. Barb Cottingham said two men were seen on the tugboat minutes before flames broke out.

Take only what you need.