The federal government has finally agreed to remove a rusting hulk that has loomed as a potential environmental catastrophe in Quebec for years.
The Kathryn Spirit was abandoned by its Mexican owners nearly five years ago at the city of Beauharnois near Montreal and the St Lawrence River. The Mexican firm has since declared bankruptcy and all pumping operations to keep the ship upright have come to a halt.
Local politicians have made repeated calls to Ottawa for help to move the ship for fear is that oil and other toxic materials on board could enter the lake and contaminate the water supply for Montreal.
Finally transport minister Marc Garneau yesterday committed to get rid of it.
A contract has been awarded for the construction of a protective embankment around the Kathryn Spirit to allow it to be taken apart in the water next year.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau laid out details of the plan at a news conference near the hulking vessel
At a news conference Garneau also outlined plans to penalise owners who abandon ships in Canadian waters.
“We are putting in place measures that will penalize — and there will be very strict penalties — those who are owners of ships and abandon their ships,” he said.
The Kathryn Spirit is a vessel with a long history of infamy in Canada. In 2011, after a period of lay-up, the Kathryn Spirit was sold to the Groupe St-Pierre for scrapping. The company decided that they would carry out the demolition at Beauharnois on the shores of Lake Saint-Louis. The mayor of Beauharnois opposed the operation, even though it would take place in an area zoned for industry, due to fears about environmental pollution.
In August 2012, in the face of continued opposition from the municipality, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment and environmental groups, the Groupe St-Pierre decided to withdraw from the demolition project and resold the Kathryn Spirit to the Mexican company Reciclajes Ecológicos Marítimos. The American-owned, Bolivian-flagged tug Craig Trans, built in 1944, was hired to tow her to Mexico, but was detained at Halifax by Transport Canada due to safety deficiencies and poor living conditions. The tug’s crew were later repatriated with charitable donations, and the tug arrested by creditors.
By May 2013 there were further delays in the departure of Kathryn Spirit, due to water ingress, lack of survey for the voyage and other environmental concerns, and a fear that lower water levels might prevent her departure.
