Transport Canada called in as McBarge sinks quietly into the Fraser River​on March 27, 2025 at 3:22 am

The B.C. Ministry of Environment has notified Transport Canada that the Expo 86 remnant McBarge is sinking in the Fraser River.

On Wednesday afternoon, a ministry spokesperson said the provincial government had contacted the federal agency to let them know about “the new status of the Seaborne II.”

The new status of the McBarge (known officially as Seaborne II) is that is has capsized on its starboard side and appears to be resting in the mud at its Maple Ridge moorage site.

The Canadian Coast Guard assessed the vessel in late 2023, at which point it was deemed to have no pollutants on board.

The coast guard then referred the vessel to Transport Canada’s Navigation Protection Program for an assessment, the spokesperson said.

“Transport Canada is the lead regulator at this time, and we will continue to monitor the status,” he said.

During Expo 86, the floating McDonald’s restaurant was moored at the East Gate alongside Science World and was believed to be the busiest McDonald’s in the world during the seven-month world exposition.

There were many plans for the barge post-Expo, but none ever came to fruition as it changed ownership and relocated over almost 40 years.

The 57-metre vessel sat at its Expo mooring site in False Creek for five years and then was transported into Burrard Inlet. In 2015, it was moved to its present location.

In 2009, barge owner Howard Meakin pitched the idea that the McBarge could become part of Mission’s waterfront revitalization plan.

In 2017, The Vancouver Sun was reported the barge would be the centrepiece of a “Deep Ocean Discovery Centre” that never came to be.

dcarrigg@postmedia.com