IMPORTANT NOTICE:
There will be no Paddle Flotilla organized due to legal advice re: liability issue
Save The Date: Sunday April 30th!
Rally and Open House to Stop Ship Breaking in Union Bay
Rally and Open House at the Union Bay Community Hall Sunday April 30th from 11am to 3pm. Bring signs & your passion to protect Baynes Sound from hazardous ship breaking waste!
Ship Breaking is happening on Baynes Sound
Did you know?
- Baynes Sound is a local gem.
- This body of water stretching from Comox harbour to the south end of Denman Island is sheltered water supporting an abundance of sea life.
- 35% of coastal herring spawned come from Baynes Sound.This herring fishery is the last commercial fishery in Georgia Strait.
- 50% of the shellfish harvested in BC come from Baynes Sound.
- Baynes Sound is an important harvesting area for local first nations.
- Baynes Sound is federally recognized as an ecologically and biologically significant area.
Did you know?
- Ship breaking, the cutting apart of old ships, is now happening on Baynes Sound in Union Bay.
- As per the Basel Convention; ‘end of life’ ships are considered hazardous waste
- Ship breaking has been designated one of the most hazardous and dangerous industries with high risk of hazardous materials entering the local environment.
- Ship breaking done following Hong Kong or EU Conventions require ship breaking to be fully contained. Canada needs to ratify these conventions.
- Ship breaking on Baynes Sound is not contained, ships are dragged across the beach, scraping anti-fouling into the sand.
- It seems that no permit is required and there are sparse regulations.
- Several vessels have been dragged ashore and dismantled on this site. BC Environment has issued (3) Warnings and (1) Advisory to the Operator for unauthorized releases of waste. Raw sewage and heavy metals like cadmium, lead, zinc and copper were being discharged into the marine environment. Further, there was a petroleum spill from one of two American NOASS vessels in the foreshore. The Canadian Coast Guard was called in, and confirmed the leakage, saying that the “source is land-based from a former vessel (NOASS Miller Freeman) that is currently being pulled further up the shoreline to be deconstructed.” https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/slick-spotted-at-shipbreaking-dock-in-union-bay/
A group of citizens from Union Bay and Comox have been following the threads on how this situation came to be. It seems that there are regulatory gaps between federal, provincial and local governments that have allowed this ship breaking to occur in such a wildly inappropriate place. At present the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) has an injunction filed in the BC Supreme Court to stop the ship breaking but has only bylaws to support its claims.
Save The Date: Sunday April 30th!
Rally and Open House to Stop Ship Breaking in Union Bay
Rally and Open House at the Union Bay Community Hall Sunday April 30th from 11am to 3pm. Bring signs & your passion to protect Baynes Sound from hazardous ship breaking waste!
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
There will be no Paddle Flotilla organized due to legal advice re: liability issues.
If you wish to paddle on the day please understand that this is solely the responsibility of the individual paddler and you do so at your OWN RISK.
We are doing this to:
-show support for the local residents who are so negatively affected by this industry
-demonstrate our collective dismay that this industry is occurring in such an important, fragile area.
Please note: the Union Bay boat launch has a large parking lot which is designated for boaters only, this is not a general parking lot.
