Sarasota Police remove derelict vessel from Hudson Bayou
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
SPD
SARASOTA-For more than three years, a 26-foot center console boat was submerged and tethered to a dock in Hudson Bayou.
Monday morning, officers with the Sarasota Police Department Marine Patrol lifted and towed the vessel to permanently remove it from the water. SPD divers lodged inflatable lifting bags under the vessel to stabilize the boat before towing the vessel across Sarasota Bay to the boat ramp at Centennial Park. Finally on land, the City of Sarasota Public Works Department will crush the vessel for disposal.
The removal of this derelict vessel and others like it is part of an effort to remove marine hazards said SPD Officer Michael Skinner. A grant with the West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) pays for the necessary equipment.
“It’s cost-effective and great training for us,” Skinner said. “We have the equipment to do it and that way these vessels aren’t sitting for months. We are one of a few agencies in the state of Florida that are able to do this.”
This boat had been at a private dock for three years along Hudson Bayou in a state of neglect not caused by storm damage. The property manager reached out to SPD in October this year asking for assistance in removing the derelict vessel after prior attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful. The Sarasota Police Department notified the vessel owner and they never responded.
The vessel owner will now be charged with a misdemeanor public nuisance for a derelict vessel and be responsible for the cost of removal. Once the total cost for the removal is determined, the owner will have 30 days to pay the total to the WCIND. If not paid, or a title hold for a derelict vessel will be placed on their driver’s license. This prevents the title holder from registering any new vehicles or vessels in their name until the total balance is paid in full.
“At the end of the day, people are responsible for their property, not the taxpayers,” Skinner said. “The last thing we want to do is take someone’s boat but if you’re not showing progress to remove it there is a marine hazard that’s associated with these boats.”