Another barge adrift in Vancouver prompts speedy coast guard response

VANCOUVER – Another barge went adrift in Vancouver’s English Bay, prompting a quick response from the Canadian Coast Guard.

A spokeswoman for the agency says it received the report around 2:30 p.m. and two crews from its Kitsilano base responded within minutes.

Michelle Imbeau says those crews, with the help of a vessel from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, were able secure the 200-foot commercial barge in place and prevent it from going onto the beach while they waited for commercial tugs.

She says two Seaspan tugs arrived around 3:15 p.m. and were able to re-secure the barge.

Imbeau says the incident did not cause any injuries or pollution, but the coast guard is not sure why the barge came loose from its mooring.

This comes more than two years after another runaway barge got stuck at the city’s Sunset Beach in November 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2024.