The owner of a sailboat that became beached on the Trail Bay foreshore in Sechelt at the end of November is still working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to have it removed.
Although the 28-ft.-long boat, estimated to weigh 6,000 pounds, is leaning up against Sechelt’s seawall, it’s actually within DFO jurisdiction as its hull rests on the foreshore, according to Sechelt’s communications manager Connie Jordison.
The owner will need special permits from DFO to be able to take equipment onto the foreshore to remove the vessel, which isn’t seaworthy at the moment.
“If you have to take equipment or anything down into an area next to the ocean, you have to have federal approval because, of course, there are some real dangers there to do damage to the environment,” Jordison said.
“The owner of the watercraft that is on Trail Bay right now is working with the federal authorities that have jurisdiction there to determine the requirements of what he has to do to enact the removal of that watercraft.”
Jordison noted the owner, who has not been publicly named, will also have to apply for permits from the District of Sechelt to cross municipal property when removal of the boat takes place and Sechelt staff are “ready for that once he’s ready.”
She added that the district hasn’t imposed any kind of timeline on the owner to dispose of the vessel because the municipality can’t legally do so. “The boat isn’t in our jurisdiction, so we don’t really have anything to say there. It’s not within district property,” Jordison said.
Until it’s removed, the area around the sailboat has been taped off by the District of Sechelt and the vessel has been drained of any fluids that would be considered harmful to the environment.
