The owner of a boat that damaged a public dock in Haida Gwaii’s Masset Harbour has been fined $12,000.
According to a statement from the Canadian Coast Guard, on Jan. 23, 2024, the fine was issued to Gary Jones — the owner of the eight-metre vessel Dorothy Gale — because the boat had become a hazard to the marine environment and public safety.
“The issuance of this fine comes after the vessel owner failed to comply with the Canadian Coast Guard’s directions to remove the vessel from the marine environment by Jan. 15, 2024,” the statement read. “The vessel caused structural damage to a public dock in Masset Harbour, which prevents the safe use of the dock.”
This was the second time in B.C. that a fine has been issued for a hazardous vessel under the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act since it was introduced in 2019.
The first fine was issued on June 27, 2023, to Ryan Brackenbury, the owner of the boat Akoo. In that case, the 27-foot cabin cruiser ran aground at Cadboro Bay in Victoria and was deemed to be an environmental hazard. The Canadian Coast Guard said the vessel had run aground previously and discharged pollution.
Brackenbury was fined $15,000.
Since 2016, the Government of Canada has paid to remove 580 wrecked, hazardous or abandoned vessels from Canadian waters.
