Noisy buoy in Southern Harbour should be taken out of area soon, coast guard says

This buoy has been causing quite the noise in Southern Harbour after the Coast Guard says it left its bearing in Placentia Bay. It's since been towed the Southern Harbour wharf, where it will stay until recovered by the coast guard. (CBC)

A noisy navigation aid that has been keeping residents of Southern Harbour awake at night has found a temporary new home.

The large buoy had been loose in the northern area on Newfoundland's Placentia Bay, emitting a low deep hum that has annoyed residents in the area.

Darlene Sampson, superintendent of aids to navigation for the Canadian Coast Guard, told CBC News the buoy has now been towed to the local wharf.

The buoy is used as a navigation tool, Sampson said, and usually spends its time anchored in Placentia Bay by chains and shackles.

"Sometimes those components face wear from just weather conditions. And over time they wear out and sometimes they let go," Sampson told CBC Radio's The Broadcast. "So that's quite likely what happened in this situation."

The buoy is also referred to as a "whistle buoy," and creates the deep whistle to alert ships of its location in the water. As waves move the buoy, Sampson said, air is forced up through the buoy to create the whistling sound — which means the sound can't be turned on and off.

Sampson said the coast guard had received complaints about the noise — but its size, eight tonne weight and where it ended up made it difficult to reach.

"There's only a certain number of our vessels that are capable of lifting and recovering those buoys. And often when buoys go adrift, they're not necessarily in a location that's accessible by a large ship," she said.

"Unfortunately, [bigger ships] just can't be everywhere…Where it was located, it was just very difficult for us to get to."

Now that the buoy is at the wharf in Southern Harbour, Sampson said work will soon begin to recover it and get it back to its home in the bay.

It will likely be carried out on the next available shift that can move it, she said, or by using a boom truck with a crane shore side.

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