Long-abandoned boat removed by Sarasota Police

Sarasota Police this week hauled off for destruction a swamped and capsized derelict boat in a Hudson Bayou waterway for more than three years.

The vessel, a 26-foot center-console style, was to be crushed for disposal. Police will charge the owner, who they did not identify, with a misdemeanor public nuisance offense and bill the owner for the cost of recovery, removal and disposal.

Police said if the owner fails to pay, they will make a notation on their driver's license, which will prevent the owner from registering any vehicle in Florida until settling the account.

Image courtesy of Sarasota Police Department

“At the end of the day, people are responsible for their property, not the taxpayers,” said officer Michael Skinner of the Sarasota Police in a prepared statement. “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.”

The boat had been at a private dock for three years along Hudson Bayou in a state of neglect unrelated to storm damage. The property manager reached out to police in October after attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful. The Sarasota Police Department notified the vessel owner, and they never responded.

On Monday, officers with the Sarasota Police Department Marine Patrol lodged inflatable lifting bags under the vessel to stabilize and tow it across Sarasota Bay to the boat ramp at Centennial Park. Sarasota’s Public Works Department was to crush the vessel for disposal.

“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.

State officials in 2022 launched a program in which owners can voluntarily give up ownership, paving the way for more rapid removal without the financial cost, which can reach thousands of dollars and the time to track down absentee owners. The Vessel Turn-In Program is grant-funded and works on a first-come, first-served basis. When used, it relieves the boat's owners and the responsibility of paying for its removal.