Working at the MV Miner wreck site

The normally vacant Scatarie Island has some new inhabitants, as work continues to remove the derelict MV Miner.

Workers dismantling the ship are temporarily living on the island. A cluster of grey trailers have been setup just a short distance from the beach.

The trailers are where the workers live while on the island, anywhere from 17 to 27 people stay here at a time.

There's sleeping trailers with two double beds to a room. A trailer is setup as a washroom and there's a cook house as well. All the trailers also have electricity, provided by a large gas-powered generator.

Jackie Kennedy is one of the cooks on the island. She said the isolation doesn't bother her.

"I'm used to camp life. I do it out west and I thought I'd grab the chance to stay at home for the winter," she said. "So here I am. It's great just to hop on a boat and go home at the end of my shift."

Up on the MV Miner wreck, Cam MacPhee is hard at work, as the foreman.

MacPhee said being in a remote locale has its advantages.

"It's different, but you know what? It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," he said. "We got a good crew of guys, everybody has fun, we have a laugh. And the good thing about it is you're eating for free, you're staying for free — so it's all profit, so it's all good."

Despite the remote location, so far none of the workers have complained about the accommodations.

Todd MacEachern is the site superintendent.

"[I]Really don't find it any different. All the comforts of home are here and the food's been phenomenal," he said. "And I mean there's nothing lacking. The showers are great, all kinds of water, good water, clean water. All the comforts of home," he said.

There's little entertainment on the island, no TV and only intermittent cell phone service. After putting in a 12-hour day, seven days a week, the only activity many workers says they are interested in is sleep.