Canadian police is investigating a suspected vandalism involving the Canadian Coast Guard ship ‘CCGS Corporal McLaren’, which is at the moment partially submerged in the water, after falling from its secured cradle at a shipyard in Sambro Head, N.S. The vessel was there for repairs.
The Canadian Coast Guard announced Saturday via social media that the vessel had released from its secured cradle at the Canadian marine engineering Ltd shipyard in Sambro, NovaScotia, where it was beginning a scheduled refit, and then it slid down the slip into the water.
Meanwhile, the police said in a statement that their preliminary investigation revealed that someone damaged the slip which caused the ship to slide into the ocean and is investigating to determine who was involved in the suspected vandalism.
A spokesman from the shipyard was quoted as saying that the cradle cable and safety chain was cut with a cordless mini-grinder. “It’s very obvious. If a cable fails, it frays. This was a clean straight cut,” said Ray Gallant, vice-president of operations with Canadian Maritime Engineering according to CBC.
The damage of the ship is considered minimal and efforts are underway to refloat it so that repairs can be conducted as per schedule.
There was no report of oil spill. The Coast Guard is currently assessing the situation.