Foul Play Suspected in Canadian Coast Guard Shipyard Incident

The Canadian Coast Guard ship Corporal McLaren is partially submerged, with police considering the incident suspicious.

The vessel was released from its secured cradle at the Canadian Maritime Engineering Ltd. shipyard and slid down the slip. A spokesman for the yard said that vandals had entered the yard on Friday night and cut the cradle cable and safety chain with a cordless mini-grinder. "If a cable fails, it frays. This was a clean straight cut."

The 42-meter patrol ship is reported to be stable, and there are no signs of spilled oil. The Canadian Coast Guard has tweeted that a containment boom is in place. “Our Environmental Response crew is monitoring 24/7. We are working with partners to determine the cause of the incident and salvage ship.”

The vessel has been at the shipyard since November 5.