Work is being done to remove and dispose of the derelict barge that has been sitting in Ladysmith Harbour.
The provincial Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is currently dismantling the barge that has been beached near Slack Point for the last couple of years.
This is the last of five such barges that were abandoned in this area.
“Material from the former dry dock will be separated and stored on the point while the ministry looks at disposal options,” ministry staff stated in an e-mail. “The remaining portions of this wreck are made of wood, steel and concrete. All of the garbage and other refuse has been removed and disposed of.”
Dismantling work is expected to be completed within the next week.
The barge was towed to Slack Point by Transport Canada in 2012. It is one of five pieces of Second World War-era dry dock that sat in the Chemainus Harbour, a remnant of the breakwater project tied to the failed Chemainus Quay and Marina. Three of those barges have sunk.