Rusty MS Lord Selkirk to be set adrift in junk yard

The days of a decades-old cruise ship docked inSelkirk are numbered.

The Province of Manitobaand the City ofSelkirk are splitting the cost to havethe 46-year-old MS Lord Selkirkdecommissioned,SelkirkMayor LarryJohannsonconfirmed.

The shiptook its maiden voyage in 1969. It sailed the Red River and Lake Winnipeg andwas considered luxuriousin its prime. Members of the Royal Family even took a rideduring a visit in the 1970s.

But the once lavish days of theMS LordSelkirkare behind it.It was docked ina slough inSelkirkin the early 90s, where it has sat rusted and out of service ever since.

The rotting relic has been vandalized, set on fireand even damaged after takingon water during floods.

Some people in Selkirkhave been calling for its removal for years.

"It's dangerous. It's been set on fire a number of times," said Lois Wales."The chemicals and leaching that's gone on that the scientific report came up with and it threatened the aquatic life of the river."

Wales started an online petition to lobby the government to fund its removal.

"The federal government should be stepping in and actually doing what we expect them to do, which is protect us and our waterways as citizens," she said.

Because itwas never in federal waters, the federal government has maintained it isn't responsible for decommissioning the boat.

Shelley Fosshas lived across the street from the ship for 12 years. Fosssigned Wales' petition and said she doesn't care who funds the project, solong as the eyesoreis wiped from her view.

"Of course, the chemicals that are in the water right now, you can sometimes smell them," Foss said. "To me it smells like kerosene, but I think it's just chemicals reacting with other chemicals. Sometimes it can be pretty overwhelming."

Environmental testing near the ship has shownthe presence of mercury, lead and arsenic.

Manitoba Water and Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoffand Johannson are scheduled to make the decommissionannouncement official Friday nearsite of the MS Lord Selkirk on Eveline Street.