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Vancouver –
The Canadian Coast Guard is monitoring a number of ships on the British Columbia coast that have sunk, stranded or are simply drifting in the ocean after the storm that brought torrential rains and damaging winds earlier this week.
The Coast Guard said it typically receives about one report per day on boats in this kind of problem, but received reports of 15 of the boats on Monday and seven more on Tuesday.
The most visible of the stranded ships is a barge that landed on Sunset Beach after loosening from its mooring and drifting into English Bay.
“The Coast Guard is in the process of assessing the vessels reported. Some of the factors we take into account include the risk to human life, the type and size of the vessel, the location and amount of fuel on board, among other factors, â€he said in a statement.
Under Canadian law, boat owners are responsible for their vessels at all times and the Coast Guard said it is working with local authorities to contact those affected to inform them of their towing responsibilities, rescue and clean-up.
“In situations where a vessel has a high risk of discharging fuel and oil into the marine environment, we can work with our response partners to take immediate action while we search for the owner,” said the agency.
Efforts to dislodge and tow the stranded barge at Sunset Beach have so far failed, and the coast guard said they would monitor another attempt by the barge’s owner at high tide on Sunday.
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