Dan Loebel frequently takes friends out on a boat ride down the Halifax River in Volusia County. But there are parts of the river he does not like showing, littered as they are with abandoned or half sunken boats.
- Derelict boats a danger on the Halifax River
- State officials will remove 9 in October at taxpayer expense
- Deputies unable to find boat owners
“It’s been in the water since November,” Loebel said, pointing to a derelict boat next to his home. “Before then it had come loose during, I don’t remember which tropical storm it was, but it had come loose, drifted across the waterway and barely missed the docks as it went by.”
Loebel says he has seen about a dozen derelict boats up and down the river.
The county, with the help of Florida Fish and Wildlife, as well as the Florida Inland Navigation District, is getting ready to do something about them in October.
“To remove nine derelict vessels that have been identified by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit,” said Ponce Inlet Ports Authority Director Joe Nolin.
Derelict boats can pose a danger to boaters who are out on the river and can barely see one that’s under water.
“You can hit them in the night and you can hit them if they’re just barely under the water and you can’t see them. And people inside aren’t belted in or holding on, it could cause a major problem,” Loebel said.
The tentative cost for removing the boats is estimated at about $60,000. But Loebel says taxpayers should not have to foot the bill.
“The owner should if it’s still registered, or the last registered owner should take care of it and pay the fee or the fine,” said Loebel.
Nolin says deputies tried but were unable to find the owners of the boats. Once removed from the river, the vessels which will be transported to the county landfill.