M.V. Sea Lion -  Backgrounder

? Launched in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour on May 25, 1905
? Completed tug was 114 feet long, with 22 foot beam, a moulded depth of 19.5 feet, registered at 218 gross tons, powered by a single McKie and Baxter triple expansion marine steam engine, delivering 52 nominal horsepower
? Built by Charles Roberson’s shipyard for Captain George H. French, the first independent log tower to operate out of Vancouver
? Had the first ship-to-shore radio and searchlight in B.C.
? Played a significant role in the 1914 Komagata Maru incident (see below for details)
? Was the first vessel to tow a Davis raft (see below for details)
? Sunk after striking a rock in Yaculta Rapids in 1930.  To this day “Sea Lion Rock” remains on marine charts.
? Spends the next few decades as a working tug, private yacht and charter craft
? Damaged in low-tide grounding in Port Neville in late 2000
? Undergoes $500,000 restoration in 2001 and is moved to Heritage Harbour at The Vancouver Maritime Museum

Komagata Maru

? The Komagata Maru directly challenged Canada’s exclusionary immigration policies
? In May 1914, a group consisting of 340 Sikhs, 12 Hindus and 24 Muslims congregated aboard the Komagata Maru to test Canada’s laws
? The group sailed from Asia and arrived in English Bay on May 23, 1914
? The Canadian government refused to let them land and hired the Sea Lion as an immigration boat to circle the Komagata Maru
? Organizer Gurdit Singh claimed as British citizens they should have a right to visit any part of the Empire. The Canadian government didn’t agree.
? Battles in court and with the press continued for over two months during which time passengers experienced growing discomfort, deprivation and government harassment
? In the end, only 22 passengers were granted the right to stay in Canada, all of whom were previous residents of British Columbia
? On July 19, 1914 the Sea Lion with 35 specially deputized, armed immigration officers and 125 Vancouver Police officers attempted to force the vessel from the harbour
? Passengers of Komagata Maru fought back and threw coal, fire bricks and scrap metal at the officers. The Sea Lion retreated.
? Komagata Maru was evicted from the harbour at gunpoint by a naval ship on July 23, under orders from the Canadian government. 
? The inequality of Canada’s immigration system, highlighted by the voyage of the Komagata Maru, took decades to be redressed

Davis Rafts

? Created in 1916
? Made from weaving a mat of logs, chains and cables
? Loose logs were piled onto a mat and then tightly cinched and cabled into a cigar-shaped bundle
? Each raft could be up to 500-feet long and could carry 2.5 million board feet of lumber
? Sea Lion was the first to tow a Davis raft, carrying 800,000 board feet of spruce for wartime aircraft construction

More information:   Sea Lion www.sealionrfp.com or Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation www.komagatamaru.ca.