There are a couple of scurvy dogs the RCMP would like to toss in the brig after their marine patrol vessel Inkster was set adrift from a dock at Lonsdale Quay Thursday night and into the path of the approaching SeaBus.
North Vancouver RCMP and the Coast Guard were called out shortly before midnight after the SeaBus captain and crew reported the police vessel was drifting into its path in Burrard Inlet, not far from shore.
A Coast Guard crew was able to board the vessel and tow it back to the North Shore dock.
The Inkster, a high-speed patrol vessel based on the North Coast, had been tied up at the dock around 11 p.m. Thursday night as the crew stopped to speak with members of the North Vancouver RCMP, said Corp. Geoff Harder, spokesman for the detachment.
Harder said police reviewed video surveillance and determined two men deliberately untied the vessel from its mooring and set it adrift – possibly as a prank.
But the police are not amused. Harder said the incident could have been extremely dangerous if the vessel had collided with another boat like the SeaBus in the dark.
Police are actively investigating the incident and are looking to identify the two suspects. Anyone with any information relating to the incident is asked to call the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311.
Harder said the vessel wasn’t damaged in the incident.
