Abandoned boats pile up near Palmetto’s Green Bridge and elsewhere. Can that be fixed?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has approved the final rule establishing a statewide “Vessel Turn-In” program to help get unsightly, environmentally harmful and potentially dangerous abandoned boats out of state waters before they become even more of a problem.
The new program, authorized at the commission’s July meeting, allows owners to voluntarily turn over their boats to the state for removal before the vessel becomes derelict, according to a statement from the commission.
FWC said the new program could save “time and money” associated with removing abandoned boats from state waters.
In Manatee County
The program could help ease the derelict vessel problem in the city of Palmetto’s waters.
Sunken and abandoned ships are a recurring sight in Palmetto, and city leaders say “it’s an ongoing process” to deal with them — one that can be lengthy and carry a hefty price tag for owners and some legal issues if they decide not to pay for removal.
The wildlife agency recently removed a 40-foot Concord Yacht from the Manatee River near the Green Bridge. It was covered in barnacles and swarming with flies.
According to the FWC, the agency received reports about the yacht in January and immediately opened an investigation. Officers didn’t remove the boat from the water until June 24.
The yacht’s owner, Rasi Young, 40, from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, brought the ship for recreational use but left it sunk in the Manatee River.
Fish and Wildlife cited him with a derelict vessel violation and failure to properly transfer title. Young is legally responsible for paying for removing the boat. Including storage, destruction and disposal costs.
The price to remove a boat from Palmetto city waters typically ranges from $1,000 to $3,000. If Young refuses to pay, he could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. The Bradenton Herald reached out to Young for comment and he hung up.
Upman’s Towing Service, a Manatee County-based tow company, reeled the yacht out of the river at the Riverside Boat Ramp in Palmetto. It was taken to a landfill and scrapped.
Challenge of abandoned boats
Boats can sit in state water for months and sometimes years while local law enforcement works to find the owners and claim the vessel’s title, which the state must obtain before a boat is recovered. Securing titles can prolong the removal process because boats are often sold through handwritten or verbal agreements, not through the Department of Motor Vehicle as they should be.
Common reasons that boats are abandoned in the water include because the ship is damaged, too expensive to maintain or stolen.
They often wind up in a boat yard and back out somewhere else on the water, so destroying each vessel is essential to the removal process.
From an environmental standpoint, “vessels left unattended or vessels leaking fuel or oil into the water can potentially be an environmental hazard,” said Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler.
The Palmetto Police Department helped with the investigation of Young’s boat and did not observe any fluid leaks, the FWC said.
While some of the boats in the water surrounding the Green Bridge may look abandoned and in poor condition, most aren’t. Some are houseboats that have people living inside.
“Some of these boats look horrible. Although they don’t look the best, they’re not technically an environmental hazard,” Tyler said.
The city cannot remove every boat that sinks near the Green Bridge.
“If the boat floats, is not leaking anything, and the owner claims it, we can’t remove it,” Tyler said. “The state statute says if the owner looks into the boat every 30 days, it’s perfectly legal for it to be anchored there.”
Tyler said his department, the state wildlife agency and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office marine unit keep a close eye on anchored boats in the city’s waters and test the water around anchored boats for oil leaks and the dumping of human waste.
FWC told the Bradenton Herald that derelict vessels can destroy seagrass and endanger marine animals. Seagrass is an important part of the earth’s ecosystem that scientists say helps fight climate change.
The abandoned boats also can threaten human life, safety and property as they drift on or beneath the surface of the water or block navigable waterways, posing a navigational hazard to the boating public, according to the state agency.
Fish and Wildlife has worked with the city over the years to remove about a dozen boats from the water. ‘
This year, the agency plans to extract more than 140 derelict vessels from state waters. In March, 24 vessels were removed from the Florida Keys.
The Division of Law Enforcement’s Boating and Waterways Section is leading a multi-year effort to dramatically reduce the backlog of derelict vessels. The state has doubled its budget to remove abandoned boats since last year, with $3.5 million appropriated for vessel removal for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
To report a derelict vessel
Hotline: Call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3822 to report an abandoned boat.
Website: For more information, visit MyFWC.com/boating and click on “Derelict Vessels.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
