NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – The unfolding story of a sailing boat beached in New Smyrna raises the question: What happens to derelict vessels in Florida waters?
Though the 34-foot 1977 Ericson 34x was listed for $1 in a since-deleted Craigslist post, actually taking it would entail the much-higher cost of getting it back out to sea, not to mention the permitting required.
Vessel sellers are required by Florida law to notify the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles they have sold their vessel within 30 days of the sale. Vessel buyers also have 30 days to transfer the title. By following these procedures, you can avoid fines and fees!
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission | Derelict and At-Risk Vessels (excerpt)
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a vessel in Florida is defined as derelict under one or more of the following conditions:
- The vessel becomes “wrecked,” “junked” or “substantially dismantled.”
- Wrecked vessels are sunken or sinking, aground with no ability to remove themselves without mechanical help or left behind after a “marine casualty” such as a boating accident, extreme weather or a fire.
- Junked vessels have either been stripped of components or discarded by the owner or operator. A vessel may also be defined as junked if its components have substantially degraded or have been destroyed.
- Substantially dismantled vessels are defined as those with two or more of the following components or vessel systems missing, compromised, incomplete, inoperable or broken:
- Steering system
- Propulsion system
- Exterior hull integrity
- The FWC notes that attaching an outboard motor to a junked or substantially dismantled vessel does not absolve said vessel’s derelict definition if the motor isn’t an effective means of propulsion in accordance with 327.4107(2)(e), F.S. and associated rules.
- The vessel is located at any port in Florida without consent from the jurisdictional agency.
- The vessel becomes docked, grounded at or beached on a property without consent from the property owner.
When it comes to the removal of a derelict vessel — as well as its sale, which would involve the state certification, assignment and lawful transfer of its title — there’s going to be paperwork.
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The FWC states that most derelict vessel removal projects need permitting in order from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Those looking to begin a derelict vessel removal project are urged to call these agencies ahead, for failure to obtain permitting before such a project could result in state and/or federal fines, according to the FWC.
As far as exemptions to this level of permitting, there is one.
According to the FWC’s website, it’s not required to obtain a permit from the FDEP to remove a derelict vessel from Florida waters as long as best management practices are followed, no harm to the environment is done and the derelict vessel case has been entered into the FWC’s Statewide Derelict Vessel Database. Keep in mind, though, that the exception does not apply to any necessary permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, just FDEP.
It’s also possible for local governments — not private citizens — to apply for the FWC’s Derelict Vessel Removal Grant Program, which uses funding appropriated by the Florida Legislature to reimburse said governments for the removal of derelict vessels from public waters. A Rapid Removal Grant Program is available along the same lines, so long as the funding is there, and the owner of a derelict vessel will be afforded to opportunity to challenge the “derelict” determination in criminal court and/or at an administrative hearing, according to FWC.
According to NOAA, derelict vessels are considered harmful to the environment because they can leak pollutants into the surrounding environment and be an obstruction in waterways.
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