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02/15/2010: "Rescue The Derelict Vessel Program"

(Lopez, Fish Bay after a derelict vessel went down)

By Terry Whalen

In December of 2008 San Juan County dropped the Derelict Vessel Program, however just because the County has dropped the program it does not mean the problem has gone away.

A1 Marine Services began (A1) raising and removing derelict vessels from the waters and beaches of San Juan County through the Derelict Vessel Program in 2004. After that first boat it took about two years to receive a signed contract with San Juan County.

During that two year period A1 was still removing derelict vessels, but without a contract. The photos above and below are just a small sampling of an ongoing problem.

(The one that got away)

Here is a case in point: In August of this year a house boat broke anchor and washed up on the beach in shipyard cove. The owner removed it from the beach and tied it up to an illegal mooring that belonged to someone else. Then it began to sink, probably because of it’s time on the beach.

The Coast Guard, DNR, and the County were all notified the boat was in danger of sinking, but permission to stop it from going down was not given. Everyone knew who the owner was and it is believed the owner was eventually notified, but chose to do nothing about it.

As a result, it sat half submerged in Shipyard Cove for almost a month, eventually breaking loose from the mooring and carried out by the current into San Juan Channel and out through Cattle Pass on the south side of San Juan Island. At this point the residence of Eagle Cove complained that it can’t be left to sink there, as it is whale habitat.

A month after it began to sink permission was granted to retrieve it. But by the time A1 was on the scene it was gone. The next day a call came in saying it was in front of the Lime Kiln light house, but then it moved on. At this point the Coast Guard put a helicopter in the air and located it close to Victoria in Canadian waters and the official notice was that “its Canada’s problem now.”

Concerns about the lack of funding for a Derelict Vessel Program seems to have fallen on deaf ears. It is as though, if it’s not on a beach in front of someone’s house, the public does not care; but is it because people don’t care about what happens to these derelict vessels, or is it because people really don’t know what happens when a vessel goes down, because they do not see the environmental damage that occurs.

However the fact that we have to cut government spending does not relieve us of our responsibility to protect our marine environment and our marine habitats.

The damage caused by sinking boats can be wide spread. They tend to sink in shallow coves, damaging fragile eco systems and cover the beaches in garbage, fuel and oil.

We need to find a way to stop these boats from sinking, and not just clean up the mess after the fact.

It cost approximately $120,000 to clean up after the sinking of the Fish Hawk in Hunter Bay. In the last thirteen months DNR has spent approximately $170,000.00 in San Juan County removing these boats. If we can’t afford to stop this from happening, then how can we afford to clean up the mess after it does happen?

The latest boat that was salvaged was just two weeks ago a 65 foot converted fish boat aground north of Stewart. Had it not been salvaged before it rolled over and broke up, the clean up would have again cost well over $100,000 and it would have coated the entire Provost area with garbage fuel and oil. This would have brought the clean up cost to around $250,000 in thirteen months.

Since San Juan County has dropped the Derelict Vessel Program there is no longer authority to identify and remove derelict vessels before they sink. The private sector cannot stop a vessel from sinking, and then charge the owner for services.

The boats in the photos follow a common path, they were ether given to the current owners or sold to the current owner for very little money. The new owners have big dreams about fixing them up, but then the reality of how much labor and money it takes sets in. Then the vessels are abandoned and the owners fail to take responsibility for the damage that results when the boat becomes a derelict vessel
.
We need to find a better way to deal with derelict vessels. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. A large part of the money spent to date by DNR and San Juan County has been to clean up many years worth of neglect. Letting these derelict boats accumulate again would be a tragedy.



(Terry Whalen is a principal with A1 Marine Services.; A1 Marine Services is ACAPT certified and has two full time Coast Guard certified captains with towing certificates,