'Substantial' repairs to sabotaged Canadian cutter could take years

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(HALIFAX, Nova Scotia) — A Canadian Coast Guard cutter that was sabotaged at a Nova Scotia shipyard nine months ago will undergo expensive and lengthy repairs, Global News reported.

In November, the 140-foot CCGS Corporal McLaren was cut from its cradle in Sambro, Nova Scotia, where it was undergoing a monthlong refit. The ship crashed into the ocean and came to rest partially submerged in the harbor.

Officials were quick to determine the act was sabotage. Severed lines and snapped anchors reportedly indicated that someone had taken a power tool to the cables holding it in place.

The $227 million Hero-class vessel, built in 2013 by Irving Shipyards, was towed to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth and awaits repairs.

Jane Kelsey, regional director of integrated technical services for the Canadian Coast Guard in Atlantic Canada, said the damage is believed to be “substantial” and that everything below the bridge deck was immersed in seawater, damaging computer equipment and rendering wiring useless.

“It’s difficult to estimate but it will not be near-term so it could be a year in here, a year and a half out. It’ll be really difficult for me to estimate that to any degree of accuracy,” Kelsey said in a phone interview.

Kelsey wouldn’t comment on what the repairs could cost, but preliminary estimates from observers at the time of the sabotage put a $5 million price tag on the project.

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By Professional Mariner Staff