Sailboat sinks after catching fire underneath Granville Bridge

Firefighters responded to a sailboat on fire in False Creek Marina underneath the Granville Bridge on Monday, Jan. 27.

A sailboat sank to the bottom of Vancouver’s False Creek after being engulfed in flames in the early hours of Monday morning.

Firefighters were called to the False Creek Marina at the foot of Granville Bridge just after 12:45 a.m., Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Asst. Chief Pierre Morin told CTV News. Crews arrived to find the 38-foot vessel “fully involved.”

About 40 firefighters attended the scene and initially had trouble getting water to the boat, which was engulfed in flames at the end of the pier.

The first responders sprayed the flames from the shore, and were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any other vessels, but the sailboat burned through and sank.

Fortunately, nobody was aboard the vessel at the time and there were no reported injuries from the incident, Morin said.

The cause of the blaze is undetermined, and likely will remain so, VFRS said, as the boat is on the inlet’s floor.

The harbour master will be on site Monday to investigate any leftover debris, Morin said.

While this fire took place on a boat docked at a marina, many other recent fires in False Creek involved vessels anchored in the middle of the waterway.

In September 2023, a man suffered severe burns during a fire aboard a boat moored in the water near David Lam Park.

The waterway falls under federal jurisdiction, but Transport Canada has delegated powers for managing vessel anchorage to the City of Vancouver.

Boats moored for more than eight hours must be registered with the city, and there are limits on how many days boaters may remain in False Creek.

The Vancouver Police Marine Unit patrols the waterway and also plays a role in enforcing the rules.

“As a last resort, if somebody has overstayed their allotted time, if there’s an abandoned boat, a boat that’s not safe, we have the authority to remove that boat by pulling it out of the water and impounding it,” Sgt. Steve Addison said.

At any given time, there are dozens of boats at anchor in False Creek – many with debatable levels of seaworthiness.

“For lack of a better term, floating wrecks on the water. They are not seaworthy, they are not safe to be aboard, They cause pollution,” Addison said.

“They sink and when they sink they cost thousands of dollars, sometimes up to a $100,000, for them to be raised up.”

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard also conduct patrols in False Creek.

According to Transport Canada, seven problem boats have been removed from False Creek in the last four months – and 95 since 2019.