Arrest warrant sought for Tracy Dodds, owner of derelict MV Farley Mowat

The mayor of Shelburne is seeking an arrest warrant for the owner of a derelict ship left in its harbour. 

Tracy Dodds owns MV Farley Mowat and faces jail time and fines after failing to remove the ship from the Port of Shelburne.

On Wednesday, Mayor Karen Mattatall confirmed the town is applying for a warrant for his arrest. 

Dodds, a scrap dealer from Wolfville in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, missed a fourth court-ordered deadline to remove the vessel. He had gotten extensions for the previous deadlines and the latest one was midnight on Tuesday.

Dodds faces $10,000 in penalties and 20 days in jail for not moving the vessel. Half of that money would go to the town of Shelburne and the other half would be an additional fine.

"Obviously the town is disappointed by the outcome today," said Dylan Heide, Shelburne's CAO. "It's still a burden on the port and on the town."

The federal government originally seized the ship in 2008 after its captain and first officer were arrested and accused of interfering with that season's seal hunt. It was then owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 

The vessel was towed to Sydney following the arrests. It was then sold, with the idea to refit the vessel in Lunenburg and use it for expeditions.

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The refit didn't happen and the boat was put up for sale again, this time for scrap. In 2014, the vessel was being towed when one of the tugs had a mechanical problem and the Farley Mowat was brought into Shelburne.

It has been there since. 

In 2015, the ship sank and had to be raised to avoid leaks. 

Heide says in addition to the legal costs, the town is owed berthage fees in excess of $50,000. Initial cost assessments to scrap the vessel show it would cost the town another $100,000, he said. 

"The situation clearly demonstrates even if the community is capable of and willing to follow the options available to them under the courts, it really is no recourse," he said.

"There is a need for effective federal legislation on derelict vessels."

The town doesn't have permission from the court to deal with the boat directly at this time, Heide said. 

"We're trying to figure out what our next course of action might be and we're certainly redoubling our call for any kind of assistance that we can get."