THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay is keeping its options open while it waits for cost estimates for preserving and displaying key parts of the James Whalen tugboat.
It's considering multiple locations for storing those components once the tug is removed from the banks of the Kam River near the James Street Swing Bridge.
The 119-year-old boat has been stored there since 2022 when it took on water and sank in the Kam River.
The city spent $800,000 to have it relocated and secured on land, and could spend up to another $400,000 to dismantle the tug while retaining and relocating iconic components for future display because of their historical significance.
On the basis of a close vote by city council in September, the city has posted a request for bids from marine salvage and recycling firms.
Interested companies are each asked to provide separate quotes for varying extents of salvage:
- Remove designated pieces and transport to Parks & Open Spaces yard on Empire Ave. Potential items for salvage include the bridge, the stack, the rudder, the winch, the winch, escape hatches, funnel, lifeboat posts, portholes, a section of hull containing the "James Whalen" name
- Cut the lower deck at the house line for preservation and removal of the entire intact upper deck and all contents including supporting walls and columns. Transport the upper deck to either Fisherman's Park West at the mouth of the Current River, Pool 6 at Marina Park, or a storage area at TBT Engineering on Yonge Street
- Cut the outer hull below the bulkhead line for preservation and removal of the entire intact lower and upper deck and all its contents. Transport them with all components for storage at one of the above three locations
Cory Halvorsen, manager of parks & open spaces for the city, said the tender call allows for flexibility as it relates to options for placing the preserved components.
"When we went to council in the fall, in the report at that time we had identified Fisherman's Park as the main option as an opportunity to bring preserved components and look into potentially a display site beng set up. The other options, I think, relate more to if we get into preserving larger portions of the deck. This gives us some options in speaking with the transportation museum. They clearly have interest in the vessel as well."
The chair of the Transportation Museum of Thunder Bay, Wally Peterson, has said his group wants to preserve as much of the James Whalen as possible for future display at its Pool 6 site.
Halvorsen noted that the decision will ultimately be city council's to make.
"I believe the main driver at this point is costs. That was clear when we discussed it at council. But with a project as unique as this, it's valuable to get these pricing options built into the tender so we know exactly what the pricing components are. It's about having flexibility to make the best decision with this going forward."
The call for bids closes next month.
Once the contract is awarded the dismantling and removal of the tug is expected to be completed by the end of May 2025.
