Victor Voigt, an ‘inventor’, who claims to be able to heal cancer ‘within 10 days’ is setting up on the Viki Lyne II and inviting clients to come aboard for treatments.
Voigt, who offers free treatments to people with an instrument he has invented called the Magic Magee Healing Tool, told the Chronicle on Thursday that he has cleaned out one bathroom aboard the Viki Lyne II and intends to make more improvements.
He said the ‘manager’ of the area known as Dogpatch, adjacent to the Ladysmith Community Marina, moved his tug boat next to the Viki Lyne into a spot that was occupied by a vessel that burned and sank in the early morning hours of July 18, just a day before a protest against the mooring of the Viki Lyne II in Ladysmith Harbour.
Since being tied up to the Viki Lyne II, Voigt has deemed the derelict trawler a safe, suitable place to offer treatments. In an interview he said the vessel could also be cleaned up and used as ‘low income apartments.’
Informed that a Canadian Coast Guard commissioned survey of the Viki Lyne II was conducted in 2012, and that it indicated the hull of the 54 year-old trawler is virtually rusted through, Voigt said, “It isn’t yet.”
The survey, conducted by McAllistar Marine Survey & Design, said they could not determine the “lowest likely hull thickness,” but went on to say, “We can, however, assume the hull is very close to being penetrated by corrosion.
“In fact, the hull may be penetrated below the water line but covered with scale and marine growth which is preventing the in flooding of the hull.”
A call to the Canadian Coast Guard to ask about the safety of having people aboard the Viki Lyne has not yet been responded to.
But McAllistar Marine & Design was so concerned, they issued the following warning: “All readers of this document are cautioned that scraping of the external hull below the waterline may cause the vessel to flood.”
Informed of that caution, Voigt said, “If that thing started to go down, it would take me an hour to clean out my stuff and untie my boat from the Viki Lyne. In the meantime, they don’t have the money to move it, or do the proper things to be done. All I’m saying is for now – for the next ten years – it can be used as a healing centre.”
As well as safety concerns, the Ladysmith Maritime Society, the Town of Ladysmith and the Stz’uminus First Nation have all expressed serious concerns about the environmental hazard posed by the Viki Lyne. Last fall 20,000 litres of oil and solvents were removed from the boat by the Coast Guard, but 13,000 litres remain – enough to do serious harm to the recreation, tourism and shell fish industries centered in Ladysmith Harbour.
“No-one should be on that vessel,” said Rod Smith, managing director of the Ladysmith Maritime Society, which runs the Ladysmith Community Marina, adjacent to the Dogpatch area where the Viki Lyne II is moored.
“Any kind of activity on that boat increases the likelihood that it will sink.”
He also warned that fumes from unknown solvents and chemicals aboard the Viki Lyne could be hazardous, particularly if they are breathed in confined spaces.
They could also be flammable.
Smith has fired off an urgent letter to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans expressing his concerns.
In another development, in a letter written to the Chronicle – see Viki Lyne II floats high, page 6 in today’s paper – Bryan Livingstone claims the Viki Lyne II is not at risk of sinking, and that she was placed in Ladysmith Harbour “by Transport Canada and the Coast Guard” to “mitigate its risk and regularly monitor the vessel.”
The Chronicle has not been able to confirm that statement with the Coast Guard or Transport Canada.
Voigt isn’t waiting for anyone to give him the go ahead. “I’m already set up. I’ve got people lined up,” he said. “Right now, I’m set up. If you’ve got pain, come on out, I’ll give you a treatment.”
The Chronicle has asked the Canadian Coast Guard:
• What type of security measures are in place with regard to the Viki Lyne II?
• Does the Coast Guard or Ministry of Transportation have concerns about an individual occupying the vessel and using it for delivery of a public service?
• Did the Coast Guard, or the Ministry of Transportation either tow the Viki Lyne II or have her towed into Ladysmith Harbour? And what monitoring is in place with regard to the Viki Lyne II?
• Who is the current owner of the Viki Lyne II?
• What is the status of any decision with regards to removing, or otherwise remediating the environmental risks posed by the Viki Lyne II?
• Does the Coast Guard actually consider the Viki Lyne II to be a high risk for sinking and polluting Ladysmith Harbour?
