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Barge with gravel stuck near Bazan Bay

A barge carrying gravel appears to be partly submerged near Bazan Bay just off the Saanich Peninsula.
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Barge loaded with gravel appeared to be partly submerged when it was spotted at Bazan Bay on Sunday.

A barge carrying gravel appears to be partly submerged near Bazan Bay just off the Saanich Peninsula.

According to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria, Coast Guard Search and Rescue responded Saturday night to reports of a barge taking on water as it headed north in U.S. waters through Haro Strait.

The rescue centre said the Coast Guard determined there was nothing it could do and has left it to Seaspan to deal with the problem.

The barge is connected to the tugboat Seaspan Cutlass which has remained with it.

According to Seaspan, their tugboat remains with the barge that was carrying material for a company called Vancouver Pile Driving. Seaspan suggested the problem was weather-related.

Calls to Vancouver Pile Driving were not immediately returned.

It’s the second barge to run into trouble in local waters in the last few months.

Marine construction firm Heavy Metal Marine had two of its barges run aground in March near Clover Point.

The barges came loose from the tugboat HM Scout near Finlayson Point, close to Clover Point, in high winds on March 2. The tug disengaged from the barges in high seas to avoid being dragged aground.

One barge, loaded with a crane and nearly 2,000 litres of diesel fuel, was removed from the shoreline at high tide on March 3 and towed to Point Hope shipyard in the Upper Harbour for repairs.

The other barge, loaded with scrap and construction debris, including concrete and pilings from the Coho ferry terminal construction site, was removed a few weeks later.