Best Practices for the Responsible Disposal of Derelict Vessels. A case study of the disposal of an abandoned derelict by a remote Harbour Authority

Transcription

1 Best Practices for the Responsible Disposal of Derelict Vessels A case study of the disposal of an abandoned derelict by a remote Harbour Authority

2 Best Practices for the Responsible Disposal of Derelict Vessels This report is a case study to identify best practices used by a small, remote Harbour Authority when removing and disposing of an abandoned and derelict vessel in a responsible manner. Abandoned and derelict vessels have been an ongoing challenge for most coastal communities throughout British Columbia. The problem grows as the face of the coast changes, the number of active fishing vessels declines and fleets age. Finding responsible disposal solutions that respect not only the environment but also the limited capacity of small and often remote communities is becoming urgent. These communities are left alone and unsupported to deal with the growing problem. The steps taken and practices employed to remove, demolish and dispose of a derelict fishing vessel abandoned at the Malcolm Island Harbour are documented in this report with the aim of informing the search for responsible solutions. All costs incurred along with volunteered labour and donated equipment are itemized with the aims of establishing a disposal fund at the Harbour for future projects and examining the potential for piloting a local boat breaking business in the community. 2

3 A case study of the disposal of an abandoned derelict by a remote Harbour Authority The community of Sointula is a small unincorporated village located on Malcolm Island, situated in Queen Charlotte Strait between northeastern Vancouver Island and the mainland of Canada. The unincorporated village of Sointula on Malcolm Island Fishing and logging have been the main economic drivers since the community was established at the beginning of the twentieth century. Recent downturns in these core industries have presented numerous challenges including an increase in the number of derelicts abandoned at community harbours. In 2009 a derelict 11.5 metre wooden ex-commercial fishing vessel - F/V Henry Bay with no means of self-propulsion was towed to Malcolm Island, tied to a float in the community harbour and abandoned. The registered owner neither lived in the community nor left any fixed address with the Malcolm Island Harbour Authority (HA). 3

4 Henry Bay abandoned in the Malcolm Island Harbour 2009 The Malcolm Island Lions Club the entity within the unincorporated community who is responsible for managing the harbour under the auspices of the HA was able to make casual contact with the registered owner on numerous occasions but was unsuccessful at collecting any moorage. The vessel was in poor condition with no functioning pumps and a seized up engine. Numerous items from clothing and bedding to cooking utensils to fishing lures and gear to electronics and other computer components were left on board. Other items more toxic to the environment like cans of paint, batteries and jugs of petroleum products were also found on board. The hull was not sealed from either seawater or rainwater ingress and so required pumping on a regular basis. The HA management installed electric pumps and attended to pumping it out. They eventually engaged the services of a boat-minder to look after pumping the derelict. This arrangement worked well until November, 2012 when the electric pumps failed and the derelict nearly sank at the float. High volume emergency pumps were needed to rectify the immediate problem but a long term solution was necessary. The vessel must be removed from the harbour to ensure that the situation was not repeated. The Lions Club together with Living Oceans Society (LOS) began investigating steps to not only remove the derelict from the harbour but also to ensure it was disposed of in a cost effective and environmentally responsible manner. 4

5 Past vessel disposal methods on Malcolm Island A short trip around to Piggy Point the local name for a spot across Rough Bay from the breakwater - reveals how unwanted vessels were often dealt with in the past. A derelict was beached there and abandoned with the hope that demolition would eventually occur from the ravages of waves churned up by southeast storms. Lingering remains along the intertidal zone indicate how this method was neither effective nor environmentally responsible. Remnants of derelicts strewn along the intertidal zone reveal irresponsible disposal solutions. The Lions Club also felt that the disposal of the Henry Bay could be an opportunity for a local entrepreneur to establish a local boat breaking business. A decision was made by the Club in late December 2012 to use the removal, demolition and disposal of the Henry Bay as a pilot project to inform a business plan. 5

6 The first step before any removal work could begin was to gain legal possession of the Henry Bay. The registered owner indicated willingness to sign the vessel over to the HA so a Bill of Sale was drawn up and circulated to Lions Club members who may be in contact with him. After a number of failed attempts to get the owner s signature on the Bill of Sale, the HA contacted Transport Canada on December 21, 2012 with a short history and valuation of the vessel, some recent photos depicting its condition and their failed attempts to obtain legal ownership. Transport Canada sent a letter dated February 06, 2013 officially declaring the F/V Henry Bay a wreck and authorizing the HA to take possession of it. There was no cost to obtain the authorization from Transport Canada and the HA was now in a legal position to begin removal and disposal. The next step was assessing the contents of the derelict for contaminants. At no time had any pollutants been observed entering the ocean as the vessel pumped out water during the period that it was moored in the harbour. All fuel and oil tanks on board were located and isolated. Tanks were then dipped to determine if any petroleum products remained within. Any found was pumped into barrels on the float and removed to the local transfer station for disposal. There was no cost for disposing of the contaminated fuel products. The HA posted notice that offers were being accepted for salvage of any equipment attached to the vessel. In total, $ was paid to the HA for aluminum rigging, anchor equipment and other parts. The derelict had no other value. A plan was devised to remove the vessel from the water. Living Oceans worked with the Lions Club to locate a local entrepreneur with the appropriate equipment who might be interested in establishing a boat breaking business. One individual was planning to bring a large low bed trailer capable of carrying the vessel to the island in March While waiting for the trailer to arrive, volunteers removed the considerable amount of loose objects from the derelict. The most efficient way to remove the waste material was to tie a large eight compartment open punt alongside the derelict. 6

7 Different types of materials - wood, plastic, electronics, metal, rubber, paper, cloth and glass along with toxic materials such as paint, petroleum products and batteries - were sorted. Materials that presented no spill hazard were loaded into large net bags in the separate bins allowing large amounts of presorted materials to be unloaded from the punt by hoisting the individual net bags into a pickup truck at the wharf head. All loose waste materials were taken to the local transfer station for recycling or disposal. Tipping fees for disposal of the sorted loose material at the transfer station amounted to $ The delivery of the trailer to the island was delayed until at least mid-april so inquiries were made to find another trailer on Malcolm Island. The cost to bring over to Malcolm Island from Vancouver Island a trailer large enough to carry the derelict was prohibitive and no known location was nearby on Vancouver Island to transport the derelict for demolition. Living Oceans also looked into what regulations or guidelines existed for marine vessel demolition operations as commercial enterprises. Communications with the provincial Ministry of Environment indicated there are none. Provincial guidelines apply to derelict vehicle disposal if handling more than eighty per year. They require a site designed to contain any leakage of pollutants and compliance with toxic and hazardous materials transport regulations. Other materials like asbestos that might be found in older boats or vessels but not generally present in automobiles are not covered in the guidelines. Nonetheless, the Henry Bay was re-examined for asbestos but none was found aboard. It was determined that, since the vessel held no toxic or hazardous materials, a special containment site would be not be necessary for this pilot demolition project. The trailer did not arrive until early May and, upon arrival, already carrying another boat that would remain on it for the foreseeable future. The Henry Bay now required pumping more than once per day. It was feared that if the vessel sank at the float its removal would become more complicated and very expensive. The HA made a decision to remove the derelict from the harbour and ground it on the beach until the trailer became available. 7

8 Another derelict had been previously beached by its owner and rested up against the rip rap wall of the Harbour parking lot. Since the Henry Bay did not contain any toxins or threaten to leak any pollutants, the HA decided to beach the Henry Bay behind the other derelict. On July 23, 2013 at the highest tide of the summer the Henry Bay was towed to the site where it was situated behind the other vessel and secured by a back hoe and volunteer operator to the rip rap wall beside the parking lot. When the tide ebbed and the derelict settled on to the beach in an upright position, openings were made in the hull so it would not re-float. An oil containment boom was placed around the vessel for forty-eight hours until it was determined that no pollutants were leaking into the ocean. The Canadian Coast Guard and the Provincial Emergency Program hotlines were informed that the vessel was stabilized on the beach and that no pollution threat existed. Warning signs were fastened to the derelict and all openings were shuttered to prevent attempts to board the derelict. The beaching operation including site preparation and removal of all loose material from the derelict took fifteen hours. Volunteer, machinery and operator time for the removal and beaching operations are estimated at $1, Henry Bay stabilized on the beach and secured next to the parking lot to prevent it from sinking in the harbour. 8

9 The Henry Bay remained stabilized on the beach for the rest of the summer and fall while more attempts were made to find a suitable trailer for its removal. In November when it became clear that the one trailer on the island capable of hauling away the derelict in one piece would not become available any time soon and no other trailer large enough to receive the derelict could be located, a decision was made to begin partial dismantling of the derelict in situ. Environmental impacts were considered. The derelict had not leaked any pollutants while on the beach and it was once again determined that no pollutants or toxic substances that could leak during the removal operation remained in the boat. Plans were then drawn up for how removal should proceed. On November 22, 2013 the derelict was again enclosed by an oil boom to contain any floating materials that might break loose during the operation. The most efficient method was to remove the cabin and foredeck from the vessel where it sat on the beach so as to gain access to and remove the engine and fuel tanks. Then the hull would be pulled onto the parking lot where it could be cut into smaller pieces for transport to another demolition site away from the ocean. The tide would be low during the following day so the next morning a back hoe was brought to the parking lot on a small trailer and positioned beside the derelict. The back hoe removed both the cabin and foredeck from the hull and began loading the waste material into a gravel truck. Demolition begins by removing the cabin and foredeck to the parking lot. Oil boom can be seen in the foreground. 9

10 Next a crane truck was brought in to lift the out engine and fuel tanks. They were placed on oil absorbent rags in the parking lot where they were once again re-examined for any pollutant leakage. The two fuel tanks were removed intact and salvaged for re-use. The engine was sent to metal recycling. Together the two machines then lifted the remainder of the derelict from the beach onto the pavement of the parking lot in one piece. It was then cut into two sections small enough to be loaded onto the deck of the small trailer. Lifting the hull onto parking lot Hull section loaded onto trailer by heavy machinery 10

11 Some breakage occurred during the dismantling and removal operation but all loose materials and breakage were collected from the beach and loaded into the gravel truck. The parking lot was swept clean after all the machinery left. The entire removal operation took approximately six hours of machine time. The cost of the removal is estimated to be $1, The oil containment boom was left in place for four tide cycles (forty-eight hours) to collect any remaining material or pollution. None was detected and the oil boom was removed on November 25th. On December 4, 2013 the HA informed a Small Craft Harbours (SCH) representative of the vessel removal from harbour and requested financial assistance for disposal to the local regional landfill. SCH considers removal and disposal of derelicts to be an 'operational cost' and therefore the responsibility of the Harbour Authority. No funds were made available. More material sorting was done during demolition at the upland site. The metal propeller and shaft were removed for salvage. Over four metric tonnes of wood and other non-salvageables or non-recyclables were consolidated into two loads for the gravel truck, hauled to the 7-Mile Regional Landfill and disposed of on December 19 and 20, Cost for transportation and tipping fees at the landfill amounted to $1, After subtracting revenues generated from the sale of salvaged equipment, the final cost for the entire operation to remove the Henry Bay from the Malcolm Island Harbour and dispose of it is estimated to be $3, Itemization of costs Note: Some costs are estimates as volunteer labour and machinery were used at certain stages of the operation. Volunteer labour, boat and truck to remove, sort and dispose of loose material..$ Tipping fees at Malcolm Island Transfer Station Volunteer labor, boat and back hoe for beaching derelict vessel Volunteer labour, back hoe, trailer, gravel truck and HIAB for vessel removal. 1, Transport and tipping fees for four tonnes of waste at 7-Mile Regional Landfill... 1, Total costs $3,

12 A Short Summary of Best Practices Employed in the Case Study Determination of vessel ownership is a necessary and important first step before removal can be undertaken. This can be difficult if the vessel is abandoned. Even when known, securing ownership or permission from the registered owner to remove or destroy the derelict can be complicated. But in order to avoid any legal issues this must be done. In the case study, a letter from Transport Canada declaring the vessel a wreck and assigning ownership to the Harbour Authority was obtained before any work commenced. Pollution prevention and environmental concerns should be the foremost considerations. They were for the Harbour Authority throughout the operation in the case study. Any environmental and technical challenges associated with removal or demolition should be assessed beforehand. A plan should then be devised and updated as conditions change. In the case study the vessel was assessed and it was initially determined that the derelict did not pose a pollution threat. Although requiring constant observation and significant pumping to keep it afloat, the vessel was kept in the harbour until a suitable trailer could be located. Only when it threatened to sink at its mooring was the decision made to beach the vessel. Once an appropriate location was identified, the derelict was re-assessed before and again after beaching. Ensure that all contingencies are considered and all equipment used are adequate for the job and in place before any work begins. In the case study regulatory agencies were contacted to determine any compliance requirements. Additional machinery was brought in when it was decided to beach the vessel and subsequently remove it onto the parking lot. Oil booms and oil-absorbent cloths were deployed when the vessel was beached and again when it was removed. This project was undertaken with the financial support of: Ce projet été realize avec l appui financier de: 12