Ship dismantling operation in Newfoundland taps into town's ironworking history
The coast guard manager overseeing the careful dismantling of a shipwrecked fishing vessel in Colliers, N.L. says it's been fascinating to watch the operation -- but the best aspect has been the questions from the audience.
Colliers is home to generations of iron and steel workers, pipe fitters and welders, and many have been coming out to watch the Hamilton Banker fishing vessel be slowly taken apart, said Andrew Wakeham, a senior response officer with the Canadian Coast Guard. Their interest in the project, as well as their smart, technical questions, have made the operation "pretty special," Wakeham said.
"They may not do exactly this type of work, but they would work with similar equipment with large cranes, around boats," he said in an interview Monday. "Between the job going well and ... hearing how much they enjoy it, it's been a great couple of weeks."
The Hamilton Banker was built in Norway in 1977 and was registered under Canadian flags, according to marine traffic websites. It had been moored in Colliers since 2006, after it sank that year Conception Bay. But a massive snowstorm in January 2020 -- now known locally as "Snowmageddon" -- knocked the vessel free and it slammed into rocks, where it has been stuck ever since. Wakeham said there was a risk it would start to leak fuel or other pollutants.
The project to dismantle the wreck and recover its contaminants began about three weeks ago. Divers are threading diamond-tipped wire through the ship's rusted hull to saw through its remnants. Others are using blowtorches to cut through the steel.
"When they cut a section off and lift it up and you can see the inside of a ship that very few people get to see, of course it's great," Wakeham said.
Colliers town councillor Glen McDonald said there's been a steady stream of traffic by the work site since it began.
He agrees the curiosity is likely fuelled by the community's connection to the work: if someone in Colliers isn't an ironworker, boilermaker or pipe fitter, they likely descended from generations of them, he said in an interview Monday. Many in the town had family who worked on buildings in Philadelphia, Boston and New York City, he added. "It's the biggest thing that's happened in Colliers in a while," McDonald said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.