If there's one man who knows the laws of the sea, it's Steen Larsen.
A few months ago, the Squamish resident brought an old freighter up from the United States. Now it's caught in the centre of a whirlpool. In January, Western Forest Products petitioned the courts to force Larsen to remove the former U.S. Navy transport vessel from a mooring buoy alongside the Woodfibre site. On March 4, the boat's anticipated arrival off Squamish's shore prompted residents to gather on the Oceanfront. Their message the ship isn't welcome here.
The 59.7-metre vessel now floats near the mouth of the Mamquam Blind Channel. Larsen said he plans to move equipment he manages in the waterway onto the new ship. Once that's done, he's eyeing three locations for the boat two around Squamish's shores.
Nobody is doing anything that is illegal, Larsen said, adding the Coast Guard inspected the ship and found her sound.
Larsen is right, Squamish environmental activist John Buchanan said. Ocean laws are a quagmire of jurisdictions, water lot ownerships and individual rights. While the province owns much of B.C.'s land covered by water, the ability to make laws and regulate what goes on in navigable waters is a federal responsibility.
In 2010, B.C. municipalities petitioned both levels of government to develop a coordinated, timely approach to deal with derelict and abandoned vessels. This year, the feds released a report on the subject. Yet movement on the topic seems to have run aground and the unwelcome vessel off Squamish's shoreline has frustrated residents focused on the rusty hull, Buchanan said.
[Larsen] is just working with a system that is allowing him to do this, he said. Don't go after him. Go after the lawmakers.
This isn't the first time the problem has hit the District of Squamish's radar, Coun. Ron Sander said. Last November, district staff compiled a list of concerns regarding the status of unmaintained, derelict and live-aboard boats.
It's bizarre to me that the three levels of government can't sit together and deal with this once and for all, Sander said.
The issue presents multiple concerns, not only environmentally, but also aesthetically as the community pushes to transform downtown, Mayor Rob Kirkham wrote in an email to The Chief. District officials alert the various authorities of potential problems as they arise, Kirkham said. They're also lobbying for increased vigilance.
We take this situation very seriously, however our jurisdiction is very limited, he noted.
After three years of roundtables, meetings and gathering officials' complaints, last week West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP John Weston mailed a letter to federal Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt outlining concerns, Weston said, noting the issue needs a quarterback.
One entity or group must be handed the authority to tackle it, Weston said.
The topic is outside of the province's legal grasp, West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy's office replied to The Chief.
As politicians navigate through red tape, Buchanan said the safest place for the freighter may be the most unpopular place the Mamquam Blind Channel. He's afraid a windstorm could break the vessel free, sending her ashore.
If it ends up on the rocks somewhere, it is going to split open, Buchanan said.
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