Police warn owners of damaged boats: Remove them from the water or face prosecution
In August, Florida Fish and Wildlife police inspecting a Middle Keys harbor popular with “liveaboards” — people who live on their boats — ended up arresting two men. Officers determined that their vessels were derelict, lacking seaworthiness and posing hazards to navigation and the environment.
According to Monroe County court records, one of the men whose boat was flagged in Boot Key Harbor ended up pleading no contest to owning a derelict vessel, and a judge this month sentenced him to 10 months’ probation and ordered him to pay a $1,500 fine.
The case is an example of how serious state and local law enforcement take derelict boats. Nearly 1,000 vessels are removed from state waters every year, costing thousands of dollars per boat.
On Tuesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, along with the Miami and Miami-Dade County police departments, announced a combined effort underway this week to document both derelict vessels in South Florida, and those at risk of becoming derelict.
The announcement, made at the Watson Island Park Boat Ramp, also served to inform boat owners of a program to turn in their boats if they have a vessel on the verge of becoming derelict.
“Removing a vessel before it deteriorates will prevent legal ramifications for that vessel owner and protect Florida valuable sea grass, resources, marine life safety and property,” FWC spokesman George Reynaud said. “A derelict vessel in the waters of the state is a criminal offense and can carry serious penalties and fines and possibly jail time. Acting now is the best way from preventing legal action from occurring if the vessel becomes derelict.”
Derelict vessel removal program
Those approved to take advantage of the vessel turn-in program can give up ownership of their boat and it will be removed at no cost to them. But the boat must not already be “derelict,” meaning it can’t be sunken or sinking, stripped of its components, or lack steering, propulsion capability and exterior hull integrity.
Boat owners must also have at least one written warning or citation and possess the clear title to their boats to qualify, Reynaud said.
Why boats are abandoned
Boaters end up abandoning their vessels for many reasons, but there’s one that’s most common: They underestimate the cost, Fish and Wildlife Officer Tyler Dunn said as he ferried reporters and photographers around Watson Island Anchorage.
“They buy them and they don’t realize how much it costs to maintain them,” Dunn said.
One of the vessels he pointed out was a motor boat resting about 30 feet on the bay bottom but visible from above the water’s surface. The tide was unusually high on Tuesday, but on a typical day, parts of the boat may be sticking out of the water or just barely below the surface, making it a serious hazard to navigation, especially at night.
“Even in the day, you don’t see it until you’re right on top of it,” he said as he pulled his patrol boat next to the sunken vessel’s silhouette.
Abandoned boats often end up moored in places like Watson Island Anchorage, Boot Key Harbor and off Marine Stadium on Virginia Key. Many leak fuel and other hazardous materials into the water. They can also break loose during storms, causing damage to sea grass, corals and mangroves.
“Some vessels are in hard-to-reach areas requiring large, special equipment for recovery and transportation as well as disposal. If left too long, the wreckage after time tends to break apart, creating widespread debris that threaten the marine and coastal resources,” said Lt. Oriel Tameron, with the city of Miami police department’s marine patrol.
How many derelict boats are removed at what cost?
Arielle Callender, a Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesperson, said that so far this year, 737 derelict boats have been removed from state waters. More than 300 others have been approved for removal, and there are 923 active derelict boat cases in the agency’s database, Callender said.
Callender said removing a derelict boat can cost between $400 and $800 per foot, per boat — that means removing a 30-foot boat could come with a price tag of $12,000 to $24,000.
During Hurricanes Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Ian in 2022, hundreds of boats were tossed across state waters — as well as land — making a logistical nightmare for state and county officials dealing with all kinds of storm debris.
Hurricane Idalia, the powerful Category 4 storm that made landfall this year in the Big Bend region of Florida, worked its way through the state much quicker than those storms, and created less of a mess in terms of derelict boats. Callender said 40 vessels made derelict from Idalia remain from Taylor to Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
Keeping track of the boats
Tracking down derelict boat owners is a painstaking process. Dunn, whose main job with the FWC is cataloging derelict boats, said divers must often get in the water to locate the state registration numbers off the hull of the boat. Then investigators often must go through a trail of ownership because many boats get sold over and over.
Once investigators find the owner, that person faces criminal prosecution. Intentionally dumping a boat is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The Florida Legislature last year appropriated $3.5 million to finding and removing abandoned vessels, which is twice the previous year’s amount, Callender said. For South Florida leaders, the issue is an imperative environmental and economic concern.
Irela Bague, chief bay officer for Miami-Dade County, said Biscayne Bay pumps $64 billion into the county’s economy every year — and that makes clearing the waterway of abandoned boats a priority.
“Biscayne Bay is our economy in Miami-Dade County,” Bague said.
To know more
For more information about the state’s vessel turn-in program, go to myfwc.com/boating/waterway/vtip.
This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
