Boatnerd Discussion Forum

The cargo hold is now open right through , this will eventually be broke right up at this spot .

Looks like she's good and broken midships too. you can see the plating deformed on the starboard side and a good hole starting to open on the port side. She'll be shredded like an old tin can soon enough.

Great pictures. Is enough flotation still left to the Ship that a "storm surge" could actually pick it up and allow it to float, possibly to deeper water

Here some some pics I found on facebook , of all places . From around Nov 1st . The cargo hold is now open right through , this will eventually be broke right up at this spot .

With the salvage window pretty well closed , by next year most of the cargo hold will be battered open , and the aft end will most certainly have separated from the rest of the wreck . It may even be gone if a winter storm surge carries it to deeper water .

Not only are the hull plates missing in the photos but the hull framing, and framing for the side tanks and the plates for the side tanks.

Given the way the Miner has broke apart, has anyone else wondered if it would have even survived the trip across the Atlantic, or would it have gone the way of the Algoport?

Seems like if the hull plating was worn that much, any kind of rough seas in the middle of the ocean would have torn it apart in short order.

By the looks of it, both, but I think corrosion takes the lead. From the photos I have seen, her hull was pretty darn thin below the tank-tops. Even abnormal stress and flexing shouldn't have caused those huge sections of hull to fall away unless there was severe thinning of the hull caused by corrosion.

All things considered, was the hull breakup due more to the poor/deteriorated condition of the steel or was it due more to the stresses associated with the grounding and the subsequent working of the hull?
Thanks.

Weather has been the usual fall dirt . Not too bad at all a few times , but we`ve had a couple of Nor `easters that without a doubt paid the Miner a visit . I`ll say in all certaincy when the next flyover , or boatside photo imerges of the wreck , the cargo hold section already compromised , will be mostly open to the sea .

As we all know from our passion for historic great lakes shipping stories , the Miner`s last voyage will go down in great lakes lore as one of the best stories of the final days of a 60`s era fore and aft ender . But as with every shipwreck story , once the tale is told , and all of available info is out there , the wreck if left alone . Almost as a sign of respect . And the wreck is left to it`s demise in Mother Nature`s place . The Miner was cleaned out , and anything else left in the engine room bilge spaces and ballast tanks has been scoured out by the pounding waves of the Atlantic . Story is done , so not so much on it now , but , soon as I hear anything , I`ll post an update , or if a photo is posted, and one will be soon enough , I`ll get in on here .

Anyone been out to see the wreck lately? Fireman12, sounds like you live near there, how has the weather been?
We just had somne wild weather not too far from here, a couple of tornados.

MV Miner salvage could mean new industry

Removing the MV Miner from shoals off Scatarie Island could be a boon to a developing partnership between Laurentian Energy and Marine Recycling Corp., of Port Colborne, Ont.

“We had been looking at recycling the Miner here at Sydport and had been in discussions with the salvage company, but that was before it started breaking up into a lot of pieces,” said Dennis Lanoe, CEO of Laurentian Energy.

“If it was floatable we could bring it here. I don’t know what it is going to look like in the spring because throughout the winter it is going to get torn up even more.”

The best-case scenario for Laurentian at this point would for the ship to be cut into three or four big pieces and brought to Sydport for recycling.

Currently, the company has no experience in this area. That’s where Marine Recycling Corp. would come in.

Laurentian has been working with Marine Recycling Corp. founder and director of business development Wayne Elliott to try to develop a ship recycling partnership at Sydport for the past six years.

“We have salvaged shipwrecks before, so sure, if the opportunity comes we may have our hat in the ring for that,” said Elliott.

“But more vessels for recycling at Sydport is what we are looking at.”

In particular, he was referencing the $25-billion contract to build Canada’s newest fleet of warships.

Recycling the vessels the new ships will replace could create up to 50 long-term jobs at Sydport, he said.

“There will be equipment and lots of training and certification for the various types of work that we do, from asbestos abatement to liquid waste handling, torch cutting, machine operation and general labour.”

As of Thursday a spokesperson for the provincial government said no contract for the removal of the MV Miner had been awarded. That’s something that might be addressed in the spring.

Lanoe said if there is a competitive bidding process, they would be interested in pursuing the contract.

“We were hoping we might have gotten those (Marine Atlantic) ferries before they were shipped to India but that didn’t happen. There’s a huge potential here for developing a new industry of ship recycling at Sydport.”

Bron: Cape Breton Post / Foto: S. Wadden - Cape Breton Post

No one has been out to her yet , or posted anything lately. The weather has been rather quite stormy , and 100+ k per hour winds were blowing about for 2 days when the snow storms hit the east coast . I`m sure a photo will emerge soon enough , and the wreck will surely look as it was destined , the cargo holds area of the hull pretty well destroyed , with the remaining fore and aft sections high up on the shore of Scaterie Island .

Has anyone see a photo of her lately? See if anymore damage has occurred?

The Halifax newspaper reported that Mammoet completed removal work last week.

Been awful quiet on this topic lately, anyone planning to visit the Miner?
Wonder if they are done welding it up and have left it? It seems to me to be a pointless waste of money really, what with a big enough hole in it to pull a shallow draft boat in on a calm day and tie up in the hold, one could probably wade into the engine room and up from there.
Wonder if the last storm finished splitting the hull?

GLGKen wrote:The earlier posts stated that the salvage company will weld all the doors closed. That is not so that the doors can't open, come loose and fall off, but to keep people out, so that they do not have to be rescued if they get hurt on a very dark ship.

..and get caught on a ship like that, could land in jail for trespassing.

I'd say there is a lot of grey area there; if I'm not mistaken with the general flight of her owners she's all if not abandoned. I doubt the government will stand up and take ownership of her so it's unlikely any such trespassing charge would stand up in court.

The earlier posts stated that the salvage company will weld all the doors closed. That is not so that the doors can't open, come loose and fall off, but to keep people out, so that they do not have to be rescued if they get hurt on a very dark ship.

...and get caught on a ship like that, could land in jail for trespassing.

fireman12 wrote:The Canadian Coast Guard will cease the wreck monitoring once the salvage company`s work is completed . Transport Canada has determined that the wreck will pose no threat to navigation , and will not pollute the marine environment .

So once the salvage company is done and gone, if a person were to go out there and get up on her, no one would be out there to chase a person off?

Cape Breton Post reports today that Mammoet Salvage has begun removal of contaminents - batteries , fire extinguishers etc - from the M.V. Miner wreck . Due to weather yesterday , operations were suspended . Work should continue today . Main concern is getting all removable contaminants containing chemicals off the wreck . Once the work is completed , Mammoet will seal all doorways and hatches .

The Canadian Coast Guard will cease the wreck monitoring once the salvage company`s work is completed . Transport Canada has determined that the wreck will pose no threat to navigation , and will not pollute the marine environment .

Guest wrote:

Guest wrote:

Ron Beaupre wrote:Forecast has gale warnings from the northeast with seas up to 7 metres for Wednesday Oct 26.

Ron, are you related to Don Beaupre of the old Minnesota North Stars?

I believe Don Beaupre came from Southern Ontario. My family was established there right after the War of 1812. Several generations and many, many kids later. I guess Don is a cousin.

That's cool !
Yes, Donny came from Waterloo, Ont, Canada
I watched him play many games for our North Stars back in the 80s.

Guest wrote:

Ron Beaupre wrote:Forecast has gale warnings from the northeast with seas up to 7 metres for Wednesday Oct 26.

Ron, are you related to Don Beaupre of the old Minnesota North Stars?

I believe Don Beaupre came from Southern Ontario. My family was established there right after the War of 1812. Several generations and many, many kids later. I guess Don is a cousin.