A company asked to remove its “deteriorating” tugboat from the Steveston Harbour has denied all allegations of wrongdoing made by the harbour authority in a civil claim.
In September, the Steveston Harbour Authority (SHA) filed a lawsuit to oust the “Kuulakai,” a heritage tugboat built in 1944 from the harbour.
The Kuulakai was uninsured and its condition was “deteriorating” and causing hazards to the harbour, according to the SHA’s lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria.
The SHA also claimed the owner failed to sign an agreement to use the vessel as a liveboard as per SHA directives, and, although the Kuulakai was asked to leave the harbour in 2022, it remains there to this date.
Richmond-based Canadian Black Cod Fishing Corp., named as the Kuulakai’s owner in the lawsuit, denied any liability or trespassing in its response filed on Oct. 27.
When responding to SHA’s claims, Canadian Black Cod simultaneously admitted and denied it owned the Kuulakai.
It also denied all of SHA’s allegations that the Kuulakai’s failed to sign the liveboard agreement, get insured and leave the harbour.
Furthermore, it denied the boat was in deteriorating condition.
The company opposed SHA’s request for a permanent injunction to ban the Kuulakai from the harbour and to pay its unpaid moorage fees.
None of the claims have been proven in court.
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