Coast Guard in Bridgewater takes over effort to right listing Cormorant

The Canadian Coast Guard is taking over the effort in Bridgewater to right a listing former navy diving vessel whose ownership has been unclear and is the subject of a legal case.

The Port of Bridgewater, where the Cormorant sank while docked earlier this year, has claimed it doesn't own the vessel and is suing a Texas company it alleges bought it in 2009. 

The port had nonetheless hired a contractor to begin the work to refloat the vessel, but now the Coast Guard has stepped in to lead the effort.

Under Canadian law, the polluter typically pays the cost of any cleanup. But Keith Laidlaw, a senior response officer with the Coast Guard, told CBC News that with ownership in dispute the cost of the operation, which includes preventing pollutants from spreading in the water, will be paid for by a fund that collects levees from the oil shipping industry.

"The Ship Source Oil Pollution Funds is aware of our situation," said Laidlaw. "We give them updates on our progress regularly and they have a consultant on site down here from time to time."

To date, the Coast Guard has removed "more than 31,000 litres of product" from the Cormorant and has taken measures to prevent what it thinks is hydraulic fluid from spreading far from the vessel, Laidlaw said.

While taxpayers won't be footing the bill for the Coast Guard's work, Laidlaw said, he expects the total bill will come to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

RMI Marine, which has a standing agreement with the Coast Guard, is assisting in the operation. Horseshoe Bay Marine, formerly contracted by the Port of Bridgewater, is no longer involved.

Some in Bridgewater have long considered the old vessel an eyesore. Mayor David Walker says town council is frustrated with how long it is taking to get rid of the Cormorant.

"It just seems to be one issue after another," he says. "That makes it very, very frustrating for our residents and for council and the fact that we have little or no jurisdiction is even more frustrating."

Rick Welsford, the president of the Port of Bridgewater, was reached for comment but declined an interview.