A ship that's been stranded off the
coast of Cape Breton for more than eight months will be removed by a New
York-based salvage company starting next month.
 |
| The MV Miner broke its line and ran aground off Scatarie Island in September. (Nova Scotia Department of Environment) |
The Bennington Group will dismantle
and remove the wreck of the MV Miner, which has been stranded on Scatarie
Island since it ran aground in September.
Abe Shah, chief operating officer of
the Bennington Group, said he expects about 60 workers to be involved in the
operation.
"Bennington is a joint venture.
We take our money through the scrap — the scrapping of the vessel," he
told CBC News on Wednesday.
A Greek tugboat was towing the MV
Miner, which is owned by Arvina Navigation, on Sept. 20 when its line broke and
the ship ran aground. The ship, a retired Great Lakes bulk carrier, was on its
way from Montreal to Turkey where it was to be scrapped.
Shah said the MV Miner will be taken
apart and loaded on a barge. The scrap will then be taken to Port Hawkesbury
where it will be sent by rail to buyers in Canada and the U.S.
He said although lobster fishermen are
currently at work, this is the best time to do the job because it would be too
difficult in the winter and hurricane seasons.
"The fishing season, that is
something we can talk about and is under human control," said Shah.
"That's why we want to work with
the fishing community."
Bill Smith, a spokesman with the
provincial Department of Natural Resources, said he's confident a satisfactory
arrangement can be worked out with fishermen.
Smith said the operation to remove the
MV Miner will involve only a minor disruption to the current lobster fishing
season.
"It may mean moving traps a
little to the left or a little to the right to clear a laneway," he said.
"It wouldn't be expected that
there'd be a number of traps taken out of the water, perhaps just a different
placement of them."
Bennington Group estimates it will
take between two and three months to complete the job. The company expects to
recover the $1-million cost of removing the wreck in scrap sales.
Removal won't cost taxpayers:
Transport Canada has said removal of
the ship is the responsibility of its owners and it was monitoring the
situation to ensure it didn't pose a significant hazard to navigation.
John MacDonell, acting minister of
natural resources, said the province wants the wreck removed before hurricane
season begins and it is acting to protect the environment and the fishery in
the area.
"Nova Scotians want to see this
vessel removed from our shoreline and they want to see it removed at no cost to
taxpayers," he said in a statement.
The government said the Bennington
Group is experienced in large scale projects and has been involved in
dismantling a U.S. aircraft carrier, floating barges and scrapping other
ocean-going vessels.
Scatarie Island is a provincially
designated protected area and a wildlife management area located just off Cape
Breton's eastern shore.
The province said it has approved the
plan to remove the wreck in consultation with the federal government.
Source: CBC News. 30 May 2012
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/05/30/ns-scatarie-miner-bennington.html
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