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NGOs and local residents of Union Bay call to halt breaking up activities

With the latest news that the 'Miller Freenabn', containing high amounts of toxic substances, will be dismantled in Union Bay, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and the Basel Action Network (BAN) called upon B.C. federal, provincial and local competent bodies to halt the shipbreaking activities conducted by the Deep Water Recovery Ltd. (DWR) at Union Bay. Nearby residents and K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) have raised serious concerns regarding the conditions at the yard for the past two years. In February 2022, following local and international pressure, the Comox Valley Regional District Board determined that the scrapping of vessels is not a permitted activity in the Industrial Marine (IM) zone according to the Zoning Bylaw, and sought an injunction against DWR in an attempt to shut it down. In April 2022, MP Gord Johns raised in the House of Commons the issue of shipbreaking at Union Bay and the lack of national regulation. Yet, despite these developments, local residents inform that operations at DWR have never ceased, with the former US government-owned vessel NOAAS'Miller Freeman (R 223)' ready to be scrapped. Given its age and type, the ship is likely to contain high amounts of hazardous substances in its structures, such as toxic paints and asbestos, which are a threat to humans and local wildlife, including shellfish. The ship was sold at auction in 2013. The Government Services Agency cautioned bidders about the presence of asbestos in pipe insulations, floor tiles, and wallboards. Without mentioning the exact amounts of hazardous materials, the bidding documents specifically recommended the buyer(s) to not release asbestos fibers by “cutting, crushing, sanding, disassembling”, operations that will take place at DWR once the vessel will be completely pulled out of the water. In addition to stopping the work in Union Bay, a federally designated zone of water that is biologically significant, the groups call on the Federal Government and the Province to regulate shipbreaking in Canada and mandate that vessels be recycled in a safe and environmentally sound manner at proper industrial sites that ensure a contained environment. Report with photo: https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/imminent-breaking-of-asbestos-laden-noass-miller-freeman-worries-ngos-and-local-residents-of-union-bay-british-columbia/

Waiting for scrap in New Westminster

Zhe "Nooas Miller Freeman - R 223" was docked at New Westminster, B.C., on the Fraser River on June 24, 2017, waiting to be scrapped. The former American fisheries and oceanographic research vessel was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet from 1975 to 2013. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries from 1967 to 1970 as BCF Miller Freeman. Miller Freeman became inactive in October 2010 and was decommissioned on March 29, 2013. Awaiting sale for scrapping, she was moored in Lake Washington in Seattle on May 6, 2013 when welding operations started an accidental fire in a storage locker aboard her. The Seattle Fire Department pumped carbon dioxide into the locker to extinguish the fire, and no injuries were reported. The "Nooas Miller Freeman" was sold at auction on Dec 5, 2013 for $337,550 (USD).

Fire causes large hazmat response at Magnuson Park in Seattle

A fire broke out on May 6, 2013, at 9 a.m. on the "Miller Freeman" on the Lake Washington. Firefighters were called to the berth in the Magnuson Park in Seattle after the fire broke out in a machine shop on the research vessel at the NOAA facility on Sandpoint Way. There were concerns that hazardous chemicals might be spewing into the air. About 100 firefighters responded. The fire has been contained within the storage locker below deck where it started and had not spread to any areas on the vessel that contained hazardous materials, such as paint and paint thinner. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the Fire Department was told there had been some welding activity in the storage room on May 3. The storage room was sealed and firefighters were pumping CO2 inside in an attempt to smother the fire and keep monitoring the situation. Reports with photos: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/ship-fire-causes-large-hazmat-response-magnuson-pa/nXhxr/ http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/05/seattle-firefighter-battle-smoldering-blaze-on-research-ship/