Complex salvage efforts underway after 3 boats sink in Campbell River

Salvage crews are hard at work in Campbell River, B.C., recovering three sunken vessels at a local marina.

The first boat went down in November, and two more sank on Saturday morning.

Salvaging the boats will be a complicated matter, as two vessels are tied together at the bottom of the Discovery Harbour Marina.

Bill McDonald lives aboard a vessel at the marina but didn't realize there was a problem until he saw divers at work trying to recover the two vessels that sunk Saturday.

The sunken ships include a 17-metre former fishing vessel and an eight-metre tug boat.

"The odd thing about it is that when they go down they don't make any noise," said McDonald.

"You'd think there'd be hissing like a whale coming down. No, they just disappear," he said.

McDonald says Saturday's wrecks were just the latest in a series to go under.

"You can pretty well make the assessment of which ones are going to go because they've been neglected, particularly the old plank-on-frame wood boats," he said.

The boats that sank Saturday join a third vessel which sank in the marina in November.

On Monday, crews were still trying to contain any fluid leaks coming from the three boats, with extra booms being placed along the most recent sunken vessels.

"Luckily, in this case, one of the owners is being very diligent," said Jeff Brady, superintendent of environmental response with the Canadian Coast Guard.

"We're working with them. They've hired contractors," he said. "Unfortunately the other case is – not so much."

The coast guard says action can be taken under the Canada Shipping Act or under a new Wrecked, Abandoned, Hazardous Vessels Act.

Because the two vessels that sank on Saturday went down together, salvagers expect it to take until at least the weekend for cleanup efforts to wrap up.