Courtenay-Alberni MP says former ferry in Fanny Bay shows the problem with boats selling for $1

The Courtenay-Alberni MP says the ferry that's been sitting in Fanny Bay is an example of why derelict vessels shouldn't sell for $1. The post Courtenay-Alberni MP says former ferry in Fanny Bay shows the problem with boats selling for $1 appeared first on CHEK .

The Rhododendron is a former ferry from Washington State that’s been sitting in Fanny Bay for more than a decade after Island Scallops bought it. James Mason says since then, there’s been a series of owners before he bought it three-and-a-half months ago. Watch below: Loading the player...

“I’ve called everyone. I’ve done my diligence. I’ve talked to every top recycler in British Columbia.

They can’t do anything with it. If they could, they would dispose of it for $250,000,” said Mason. Mason says a boat attached to the ferry continually needs to be pumped out and has the potential to pull the ferry down.

“I don’t think you should be able to buy something like this for a dollar and you shouldn’t be able to bring something like this to Canada at the end of its life,” said Mason. Mason says he’s been stripping the copper and taking the engines as it needs to come off anyway, and that was the value in owning it. He says he’s recently sold the vessel to protect himself from liability.

When our interview was done, a police officer approached Mason as the Fanny Bay Harbour Authority had prohibited him from using the government dock. In a statement to CHEK News, the Harbour Authority says its property has been used to access unlawfully moored vessels in the water, a use it says was never intended and one that impacts the public who rely on the harbour. As a result, it says it is restricting access for anyone using the property for that purpose.

Complaints from neighbours have surfaced on social media recently about fires and loud music on or near the ferry. The claims are supported by videos from James Mason’s own social media feed. A still from a video posted to James Mason’s instagram page _jamesmason_ on July 4, 2026.

The region’s Member of Parliament for Courtenay-Alberni, Gord Johns, says the issue highlights a common problem with derelict vessels when they’re sold for $1. “People are trading vessels that are ferries at this point, where clearly they’re trading and selling them to people who don’t have the means to maintain them or dispose of them properly and there’s no accountability,” he noted. Johns says there is a solution in Bill C-244, which is now before parliament.

“It would make sure that sellers are going to make sure that those prospective buyers have the resources and capacity to take care of those vessels and that’s one step but we also need to make sure there’s money in the abandonned and wrecked vessels program.” Johns says there are more than 900 derelict vessels threatening B.C.’s coast.

Mason says he would like to turn the former ferry into an artificial reef but for now it continues to sit in Fanny Bay, one of many derelict vessels creating concerns in Vancouver Island waters. The post Courtenay-Alberni MP says former ferry in Fanny Bay shows the problem with boats selling for $1 appeared first on CHEK .