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  • Abandoned floating McDonald’s ‘McBarge’ sat rusting for 34 years finally SINKS… and now no one knows what to do with it

Abandoned floating McDonald’s ‘McBarge’ sat rusting for 34 years finally SINKS… and now no one knows what to do with it

Published on April 02, 2025 at 12:06 AM

Abandoned floating McDonald’s ‘McBarge’ sat rusting for 34 years finally SINKS… and now no one knows what to do with it

THE iconic McDonald's “McBarge” has finally sunk after being empty for decades.

But with the owner of the vessel yet to be found, no one knows what to do with it.

Sunken McBarge in a river.
The McDonald's McBarge has capsized at its Maple Ridge mooring on the Fraser River in Canada
Sunken McBarge.
The owner of the vessel is currently trying to be located
The McBarge in Burrard Inlet.
The former-floating restaurant has been sat rusting for 34 years
Collage showing the McBarge, a McDonald's restaurant barge, before and after sinking, and a map showing its location near Vancouver, Canada.
The spot where the “McBarge sunk” in Maple Ridge

The former floating McDonald's restaurant capsized at its Maple Ridge mooring on the Fraser River in Canada on Wednesday.

Transport Canada said it is trying to track down the owner of the vessel to determine what will happen next.

But the Canadian coastguard hinted it could be some time before the boat is moved as it does not pose any immediate environmental or safety concerns.

The “McBarge” – officially named the Seaborne II – was built in 1986 for Expo 86 in Vancouver.

During its seven month display, the Maccies was thought to be the busiest in the world.

But when the Expo came to an end the McBarge was sadly closed for business – never to be reopened.

The empty vessel sat at its Expo mooring site for five years before being moved to Burrard Inlet.

In 2015, it was moved to its final location – where it has been sat rusting ever since.

There have been a number of exciting plans for the barge post-Expo, but none have ever come to fruition.

In 2017, the owner of the barge proposed a “deep ocean discovery centre” on the barge, involving vintage diving technology and interactive exhibits.

Previously, another owner had planned to transform it into a pub.

But sadly both plans were abandoned as the vessel changed ownership and was relocated.

The boat was the second floating McDonald's location in the world after the first located in Missouri.

This McDonald's store was moored on the Mississippi River and was the first ever to open as a river boat.

It was open for 20 years before closing in 2000.

World's weirdest McDonald's

Abandoned floating McDonald's ‘McBarge' sat rusting for 34 years finally SINKS… and now no one knows what to do with it 4
  • McDonald's customers can experience a “fly-thru” in Taupo, New Zealand. This one-of-a-kind diner is located inside a decommissioned plane.
  • If flying's not your thing then perhaps the McSki might be more your style. The ski-thru restaurant is located in the snow resort of Lindavallen in Sweden.
  • If you're into all things extraterrestrial the spaceship shaped McDonald's in the small town of Roswell, USA is a must-visit. Roswell was made famous after a “UFO sighting” in 1947, and Maccies jumped at the chance to cater to its alien loving tourists.
Sunken McDonald's McBarge.
The McBarge was moved to its final mooring in 2015
The McBarge, a McDonald's floating restaurant.
The world's first floating McDonald's in Missouri
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