Some of the vessels docked for the winter at the Maitland Valley Marina in Goderich are being damaged.

Jim Peever, vice president and operations manager for the marina, believes airborne particles from repair work being done at the Sifto Canada Mine are being carried by the wind to the marina.

Peever explains the particles are attaching to the decks and hulls of boats docked at the marina and causing significant damage. He says they have hired extra staff to scrub the particles off the boats so they don’t sit there all winter.

“We have had to hire staff to do the cleaning on a number of our customers boats, so we’re taking some responsibility for the clean up whether we should or not, and just making sure that our customers are happy, their boats are clean, and it’s not something that’s going to sit on their boats until spring and cause further damage,” he says.

Goderich Council has also been made aware of the situation and the Ministry of Environment is now involved.