Sunken wreck of 100-year-old boat removed from Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake just got a little bit safer.

The Mandalay B, a 100-year-old wooden vessel that sank off Lee Creek at the west end of the lake last year, has been removed.

The 50-foot, diesel-powered boat was built in Vancouver in 1923 and was mostly used on the coast before being brought to the Shuswap in the mid-1990s.

The Mandalay B had previously sunk into the lake in January 2022, and a private recovery effort raised the derelict vessel last June. However, the landmark sank again four months later.

The boat's owner couldn't afford the cost of a second removal.

But, Transport Canada and Columbia Shuswap Regional District collaborated on May 10 to remove the safety and environmental hazard from the lake.

Agencies involved in the effort included the CSRD, BC RAPP (Report all Poachers and Polluters) line, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, and Transport Canada, along with local marine diving and recovery companies.

CSRD's bylaw department worked with Transport Canada's Navigation Protection Program to co-ordinate the clean-up effort.

The boat was removed under federal provisions of the Wrecked, Abandoned and Hazardous Vessels Act.

The antique vessel will not be restored to make a return to the lake, and tipping fees were waived to properly dispose of it.