Sooke RCMP have charged two men with arson in connection with the torching of a derelict tugboat in Sooke Harbour July 3.

The 65-year-old Florence Filberg, abandoned and grounded on a sandbar, was reduced to a burned-out shell and became the subject of a jurisdictional battle over who was responsible for moving it.

Sooke RCMP arrested two boaters minutes after the fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. Police took the men into custody, seized items from their boat and determined the driver of the boat had been drinking.

The men were released and it took months of gathering evidence before the Crown could approve the charges, Cpl. Barb Cottingham said.

A 35-year-old Sooke man has been charged with arson, and a 37-year-old Sooke man is charged with arson and impaired operation of a vessel.

Police are not releasing the men's names until their first court appearance, Nov. 12.

The tugboat remains an eyesore in the harbour as the District of Sooke waits to hear whether the federal government will help cover the estimated $120,000 cleanup.

The Victoria man identified as the owner, Ron Cook, has said the vessel is not his and he will not remove the wreckage.