A Nova Scotia company has been awarded an $11.9 million contract to clean up the MV Miner shipwreck off the coast of Cape Breton.

The MV Miner ran aground off Scatarie Island in September 2011 after a line snapped in rough seas while it was being towed from Montreal to a scrapyard in Turkey.

RJ MacIsaac Construction of Antigonish was one of seven companies that bid for the work.

A New York-based salvage company agreed to remove it in 2012, but walked away from the job after voicing frustrations with bureaucratic hurdles.

RJ MacIsaac says the job will be done right this time.

“The difference is that you have a very experienced local team coming with the right equipment and a great plan,” says MacIsaac.

Shawn Howard of the Main-a-Dieu Development Association says he is happy the wreck will finally be removed, but he feels the federal government should foot the bill instead of taxpayers.

“It was their negligence of the towing of the vehicle back in 2011 that caused the problem,” says Howard. “Since then, they tried to sweep the problem under the carpet and pretend it’s not really a big issue. It’s a very big issue for us.”

Provincial politicians are also hoping for federal funding to cover some of the cleanup costs.

“I certainly hope for some help from the federal government. I still think legal options for the tower and the owner of the MV Miner, we will pursue those,” says Nova Scotia Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan. 

“It’s not fair Nova Scotia taxpayers have to pay for this. The reality is, it’s there. We need to remove it and figure out who pays the bill.”

MacLellan says preliminary work and planning will begin almost immediately, with the heavier salvage work to be carried out after the end of the local lobster season in mid-July.

RJ MacIsaac has until Nov. 1 to remove the MV Miner from the coast of Scatarie Island, but fishermen in the area feel the company will need more time.

“If he starts after lobster fishing, that’s September, October, November,” says Ken Wadden. “He won’t do it. They will add another contract. What’s the difference, another million dollars?”

No matter how long it takes, Wadden says he and other local fishermen will just be happy to see the eyesore gone.

“I think it’s about time. It’s almost time to get it out of there.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore and The Canadian Press