Almost three weeks after a windstorm tore through the region, the Coast Guard has removed several boats from Darrell Bay near Squamish.
On Jan. 9, crews removed the Zena, La Rata Bastarda, the Sea Angel II and two small pleasure craft from the area, said Coast Guard spokesperson Kiri Westnedge.
Meanwhile, however, the J.S. Polhemus, a 79-foot former tugboat, has drifted even further down to the bottom of Howe Sound.
Westnedge said the vessel is now deeper below the surface. Previously it had dropped 100 feet underwater after the Dec. 20 windstorm.
“After deploying divers and after multiple dives, it has been determined that the ex-tug J.S. Polhemus has now shifted to a depth of 300 feet,” wrote Westnedge in an email.
“We continue to be on scene and are monitoring the release of a small amount of hydrocarbons.”
Hydrocarbons are a compound commonly found in fuel.
A containment boom that was meant to stop the spread of leaking fuel from the Polhemus was also taken away.
“At this point it’s so small that a boom is no longer effective,” Westnedge said in a follow-up call.
Earlier this week, the Coast Guard was on scene in Darrell Bay with the B.C. Ministry of Environment, Transport Canada, the Ministry of Forests, the RCMP, and the Squamish First Nation.
