VT 100 (1956)

VT 100 was one of 481 Yard Class Minesweepers (YMS) built intended for harbour defense. The was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as YMS-159 on July 1, 1943. Very few YMS Class ships survive, with Jacques Cousteau’s famous RV Calypso being one of three remaining.

After the war YMS-159 was bought by the Vancouver Tugboat Company and registered as VT 100. On the afternoon of April 22, 1956, vandals boarded the VT 100 and set it on fire while it was moored alongside other ships in Bedwell Bay. Shore pumps and firefighting tugs could not save the ship, which burned to the waterline and sank.

The VT 100 site is located 110 meters off the eastern shore of Bedwell Bay. The site consists of the hull, eight steel bulkheads, various deck fittings and a steel reinforced gun platform on the forecastle. The bow is in 13 meters of water while the stern is slightly deeper, in 17 meters of water.

Note: British Columbia’s Heritage Conservation Act automatically protects all heritage wrecks, including the remains of all wrecked vessels and aircraft once two or more years have passed since the date of loss. It is illegal to damage, alter or remove a heritage object from a heritage wreck except under a permit issued by the Archaeology Branch.