A makeshift raft washed ashore in Volusia County early Tuesday with no one aboard.

Volusia County Beach Patrol said the raft was spotted off the coast by the U.S. Coast Guard a few days ago and marked as a derelict.

It washed ashore at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday near the 3700 block of S. Atlantic Avenue in New Smyrna Beach.

The Beach Patrol said the craft is an Avon inflatable type and had a tractor diesel engine attached to it. The engine still had about 20 gallons of fuel in it. The raft was consistent with other refugee watercraft that has washed ashore in Florida, the Beach Patrol said.

The Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet has requested to take possession of the craft for display purposes.