Plans for a ship breaking facility in Port Mellon, to cut up decommissioned ships and recycle the reclaimed materials, are to be discussed this week.
Marine Recycling Corporation (MRC) founder Wayne Elliott told Coast Reporter he is making his first trip to the Sunshine Coast to view a potential shipbreaking location; a site that joint venture partner, Amix Group, uses for marine construction activities.
“They [Amix] have rolled two tugboats out of the water. We would be taking over recycling. I think the tugs are about 100 feet each. I honestly don’t know when we would be starting, but there are also already a number of vessels right there in the area, still afloat that have been de-polluted and are ready to be recycled,” Elliott said.
How it's done
“When we begin to dismantle a ship, there are no wastes aboard," said Elliott. "We’ve seen many changes in the industry, since the days when they used to light the interiors of ships on fire to burn out the non-metal stuff."
The decontamination process, which takes place before shipbreaking, while a vessel is still afloat, begins with the removal of all fluids, said Elliott. All piping is flushed and tanks are detergent washed, “so that there isn’t a chance of a drop of oil going anywhere” once the ship is on land. Next, crews remove furnishings, carpets and material that are part of a ship's internal finishing. These are disposed of as non-hazardous trash. Abatement and removal of asbestos insulation and interior finishing materials follows, said Elliott.
No rezoning application filed
Elliott said it was his understanding that Amix is working on the applications necessary for the shipbreaking activity to proceed. He said that work would include putting aggregate at the water's edge and building other facilities at the work yard. Coast Reporter reached out to Amix's director of operations Dan Virtanen, but he was unable to confirm those details.
According to Elliott, there are no plans to expand the site. “It would be the smallest of our shipyards,” he said. MRC, which he described as “the world's oldest active production ship recyclers, in operation since 1959," has facilities in Port Colborne, Ont. and Edwardsville NS. He said they are also working with Amix in Campbell River, B.C.
Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) communications manager Aidan Buckley advised Coast Reporter via email that Amix's site is zoned industrial (I7) and that permited site uses including boat building and marine ways including servicing, repair and sales, as well as auto wrecking and auto storage yards. “Under SCRD land use bylaws there are a range of heavy industrial uses permitted in the Hillside/Port Mellon area, but these do not include shipbreaking. At this time, there is no shipbreaking occurring at Port Mellon and the SCRD has not received a rezoning application related to shipbreaking/vessel salvage. Should a rezoning application be received, the application would involve public notifications and consultation," Buckley wrote.
Should such a rezoning application proceed to the public comment stage, Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society lead Ruth Simons, said that group plans to be involved. She said its comments “will be focused on ensuring the highest standards for the care of people and the environment.” She also stated that “responsible disposal of vessels in Howe Sound that currently cause harm to the marine environment is needed.”
Activities like shipbreaking in tidewater areas come under a mix of regulations. The federal government has jurisdiction over the water, the province over the shoreline and, in the case of Port Mellon, the SCRD regulates land use on the beach and upland areas. While the SCRD is currently looking at amendments to its zoning bylaw, no changes to allow shipbreaking activities in that area are included.
UBCM to vote on seeking stronger regulations
Elected representatives of B.C.'s local governments are set to vote on a resolution asking for tighter federal and provincial regulations over the shipbreaking industry at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention scheduled to start Sept. 12 in Whistler.
A Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) sponsored resolution on the matter was unanimously supported by the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (which Coast local governments are members of) at its annual gathering for 2022 in April. Sunshine Coast local governments are members of that organization. The resolution calls shipbreaking “a necessary, yet hazardous activity that bears high environmental and labour risks." It asks that the province establish, maintain, and enforce a registry of approved shipbreaking facilities in B.C., and that it work with the federal government to ensure Canada ratifies the Hong Kong International Convention recommendations for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships and the Basel Convention BAN amendment.
The resolution also supports federal adoption of rules comparable to the EU Ship Recycling Regulations and asks that the federal government provide public funding to qualified shipbreaking facilities to help them meet new standards and regulations.
Concerns on Vancouver Island
The CVRD filed a notice of civil claim seeking assistance from the Supreme Court of British Columbia to stop the shipbreaking operations near the community of Union Bay on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The CVRD stated in a press release issued April 25 that action gives the property owner and the operators, Deep Water Recovery, an opportunity to respond to the CVRD’s claim that ship breaking is not an allowable land use at that location. The CVRD stated it “has received a number of complaints regarding the operations of Deep Water Recovery within its current location.”
That site is under the jurisdiction of both the province and the CVRD. The province issued a cease and desist order to stop Deep Water Marine's shipbreaking activities at the site in February.
Elliott said MRC had looked at starting up an operation in the Union Bay area but had abandoned that idea and opted to look at Port Mellon.
On Aug. 15, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced that MRC had been contracted to de-construct the 56-metre MV Mini Fusion which had been towed to the Amix/MRC site in Campbell River after being abandoned in Desolation Sound. That ship was formerly known as the MV Ocean Lady and was intercepted off Vancouver Island in 2009 with 76 refugee claimants on board.
In conjunction with that announcement, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray stated, “Wrecked and abandoned vessels are a serious concern due to the risks they pose to sensitive marine ecosystems and communities. The Government of Canada is taking action to remove these potential polluters, and help communities keep coastal waters clean and safe."
