VIDEO: Another runaway barge nearly runs aground next to Vancouver seawall

What is it with Vancouver and runaway barges in the month of November?

In November 2021, a barge weighing 3.5-million pounds got loose during the infamous atmospheric river weather event and ran aground next to the seawall near Sunset Beach.

A year later, in November 2022, the large was finally removed following a 15-week deconstruction period.

So it should come as no great surprise that there was another incident involving a runaway barge in Vancouver over the weekend, which forced the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) into action.

The CCG was notified shortly after noon on Sunday that a blue barge had broken loose from its mooring buoy in English Bay and was drifting towards Sunset Beach.

Hoping to avoid a repeat of 2021, a crew from the CCG’s Laredo Sound raced to the scene and tied onto the barge in an effort to prevent it from grounding near the seawall like its predecessor.

A second CCG vessel, the Kitsilano 1 got to work as well, pushing the barge from its rear end in an effort to force it away from land.

“The two Coast Guard vessels successfully kept the barge off of the beach for about 30 minutes until a commercial tug could arrive and hook onto the barge,” the CCG told NowMedia.

“The Seaspan tug Cates VIII arrived on scene, took the barge under tow and re-secured it to another mooring buoy in Vancouver Harbour.”

The barge is typically used to transport gravel, the CCG confirmed, but was empty at the time of Sunday’s chaotic events.