Selkirk to finally see the end of decrepit cruise ship

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This article was published 10/07/2015 (4079 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The MS Lord Selkirk is finally leaving its watery but shallow grave — a slough in Selkirk next to the Marine Museum of Manitoba.

But when a news conference is held today to announce it, the federal government will be noticeably absent.

The province and City of Selkirk have struck an agreement, believed to be a 50-50 split of costs, to finally demolish and remove the rusting hulk. The estimated cleanup cost is about $500,000.

Ottawa has refused to help, even though waterways such as the Red River are a federal responsibility under the Navigable Waters Act. An online petition has been launched by Selkirk resident Lois Wales to shame the government into offering some assistance.

Selkirk-Interlake MP James Bezan told a Selkirk newspaper last week it’s not his government’s responsibility to remove abandoned ships. The ship is owned by a company in New Jersey under creditor protection.

Just getting rid of the old cruise ship will be a relief to the community, however.

“It’s been a bit of an albatross around the necks of people in Selkirk,” said local historian Fraser Stewart.

The Lord Selkirk was once known as the biggest cruise ship between the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains. It sailed the Red River to Lake Winnipeg for nearly 20 years. It hosted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1970.

The ship has been out of commission for 24 years. It’s been parked in the slough of the Red River ever since. It’s been an eyesore at the end of Eveline Street, and a pollutant of lead paint and oils into the Red River. “The slough has always been a depository for someone else’s garbage,” said Stewart.

 

— staff