1 derelict ship sinks, 2nd listing in Tacoma
SEATTLE (AP) - One abandoned ship sank early Friday and threatened to pull another down in a waterway off Puget Sound in the latest million-dollar problem involving derelict vessels in Washington.
The Coast Guard, state Ecology Department and Tacoma Fire Department responded to the Mason Marina on the Hylebos Waterway where the two ships had been moored, waiting to be dismantled.
The 167-foot Helena Star went down, leaving its stern sticking out of the water. It was tied to the 130-foot Golden West, causing it to list.
The ships have been there for a couple of years and have "been on the radar" for the Ecology Department since last year when one started to list, spokesman Dieter Bohrmann said.
About 20,000 gallons of fuel were pumped off the vessels last March, he said. So, the pollution threat is limited, although some residual fuel could be aboard.
Arriving firefighters smelled diesel and saw a light sheen on the water. They deployed an oil spill containment boom, Battalion Chief Allen Estes said.
The sinking was reported about midnight Thursday by a man working in a shop at the marina who heard a crash, Estes said.
The ownership of the boats is unclear. The man working at the marina said he had been told they were recently sold, Estes said.
A salvage crew would have to raise the sunken ship. "It's probably going to be very expensive," Estes said.
The Coast Guard set aside $40,000 Friday for initial work on the ships, said Petty Officer Nathan Bradshaw. They're not a hazard to navigation, but now officials have to decide what to do with them.
The Tacoma ships are not on state aquatic lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources. "However, we were well aware of them as they were on our list of vessels to be removed if we had the funding," said aquatics spokeswoman Toni Weyman Droscher.
Earlier this month, the DNR seized a 180-foot derelict ship at Port Ludlow and towed it across Puget Sound to Seattle to be dismantled before it became a safety or environmental problem. The owner was unable to carry out a plan to scrap it in Mexico.
Last May, a 140-foot derelict ship caught fire and sank in Whidbey Island's Penn Cove. Pollution shut down Penn Cove shellfish beds and the spill response and salvage cost state agencies nearly $2 million.
A 431-foot barge that buckled in the Columbia River near Camas in January 2011 leaked oil and cost about $20 million in a federally funded cleanup overseen by the Coast Guard.
The cost of safely removing both ships in Tacoma is likely close to $1 million, Droscher said. "It's going to be a lot more than we have."
The department currently has about $200,000 in its Derelict Vessel Removal Account, and 230 vessels are on the waiting list to be removed.
Most are sailboats or power boats in the 25-foot to 30-foot range that owners were unable to maintain. The bigger ships are the most dangerous and costly.
"It's a constant battle with prioritizing the ships that are the most environmental danger or obstruction to navigation," she said.
Owners are responsible, if they can be identified.
"One of the biggest challenges is figuring out who owns vessels," Droscher said. "They may have registration or documentation that's old, expired or non-existent."
The derelict vessel account is funded by a $3 boat registration fee. The fund got a $3 million boost from Jobs Now Act money in the current budget.
The state would like to work with ship and boat owners to hold them accountable and prevent vessels from being abandoned.
"People dream big dreams when they get a boat that's a good deal, but chances are it's not," Droscher said. "There's a saying that a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into."
The Coast Guard, state Ecology Department and Tacoma Fire Department responded to the Mason Marina on the Hylebos Waterway where the two ships had been moored, waiting to be dismantled.
The 167-foot Helena Star went down, leaving its stern sticking out of the water. It was tied to the 130-foot Golden West, causing it to list.
The ships have been there for a couple of years and have "been on the radar" for the Ecology Department since last year when one started to list, spokesman Dieter Bohrmann said.
About 20,000 gallons of fuel were pumped off the vessels last March, he said. So, the pollution threat is limited, although some residual fuel could be aboard.
Arriving firefighters smelled diesel and saw a light sheen on the water. They deployed an oil spill containment boom, Battalion Chief Allen Estes said.
The sinking was reported about midnight Thursday by a man working in a shop at the marina who heard a crash, Estes said.
The ownership of the boats is unclear. The man working at the marina said he had been told they were recently sold, Estes said.
A salvage crew would have to raise the sunken ship. "It's probably going to be very expensive," Estes said.
The Coast Guard set aside $40,000 Friday for initial work on the ships, said Petty Officer Nathan Bradshaw. They're not a hazard to navigation, but now officials have to decide what to do with them.
The Tacoma ships are not on state aquatic lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources. "However, we were well aware of them as they were on our list of vessels to be removed if we had the funding," said aquatics spokeswoman Toni Weyman Droscher.
Earlier this month, the DNR seized a 180-foot derelict ship at Port Ludlow and towed it across Puget Sound to Seattle to be dismantled before it became a safety or environmental problem. The owner was unable to carry out a plan to scrap it in Mexico.
Last May, a 140-foot derelict ship caught fire and sank in Whidbey Island's Penn Cove. Pollution shut down Penn Cove shellfish beds and the spill response and salvage cost state agencies nearly $2 million.
A 431-foot barge that buckled in the Columbia River near Camas in January 2011 leaked oil and cost about $20 million in a federally funded cleanup overseen by the Coast Guard.
The cost of safely removing both ships in Tacoma is likely close to $1 million, Droscher said. "It's going to be a lot more than we have."
The department currently has about $200,000 in its Derelict Vessel Removal Account, and 230 vessels are on the waiting list to be removed.
Most are sailboats or power boats in the 25-foot to 30-foot range that owners were unable to maintain. The bigger ships are the most dangerous and costly.
"It's a constant battle with prioritizing the ships that are the most environmental danger or obstruction to navigation," she said.
Owners are responsible, if they can be identified.
"One of the biggest challenges is figuring out who owns vessels," Droscher said. "They may have registration or documentation that's old, expired or non-existent."
The derelict vessel account is funded by a $3 boat registration fee. The fund got a $3 million boost from Jobs Now Act money in the current budget.
The state would like to work with ship and boat owners to hold them accountable and prevent vessels from being abandoned.
"People dream big dreams when they get a boat that's a good deal, but chances are it's not," Droscher said. "There's a saying that a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into."
big enough for one large load of drugs...then easy street in the USA.
Those two boats were just trying to escape the stench of Tacoma....
In Florida, they just haul old boats out to sea and sink them to create artificial reefs.  Fish love them as do the fishermen. Â
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In Washington State, common sense in the government sector is rare. So we get things like the above photo. It sure is amusing for us transplants.
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@braintic: I suggest you get a little bit more informed before you pontificate. First, and foremost, those boats taken out to sea and sunk have to be cleaned up first. No fuel or petroleum products on board. Nor are there any other polutants, such as asbestos, allowed either. Secondly, unlike Florida, we have no real open water near by in the Puget Sound basin to drop the boats in. We would have to tow them quite a distance, out threw the Straight of Juan de Fuca to open ocean. Both costs can be quite expensive. So while the idea has merit the ugly reality of cost rears it head and generally stops it in its tracks.
 @usnrbb It only has merit to humans.....
 @SandyBeach Yeah i'm not seeing how sinking a ship so they don't have to deal with it, constitutes merit. The idea has stupidity written all over it... not merit.
 @braintic Yeah. I'm certain the marine life loves our garbage.
Must say it kind of adds a little something to Tacoma's lovely water front..
Gosh, maybe someone should pump it out...
 @Scott Collier Go ahead we're not stopping you.
I have to agree with the last sentance. A hole in the water you pour money in to! people get these boats and then find out how much money and time they have to put in to it. The they become derelict and cause these problems.
derelict ship sinks = owner pays for ALL cleanup costs.
 @Jalharad Owners are responsible, if they can be identified.  "One of the biggest challenges is figuring out who owns vessels," Droscher said. "They may have registration or documentation that's old, expired or non-existent."
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You find them and I'm sure the Department of Natural Resources will bill them.Â
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Recently sold and suddenly sunk? Hmmmm.
Past due for the scrap heap. Round them up, scrap them and bill the owners.
 @rockguy Which part of "Owners are responsible, if they can be identified.  "One of the biggest challenges is figuring out who owns vessels," Droscher said. "They may have registration or documentation that's old, expired or non-existent."" did you not understand?
@rockguy and include those old washington state farries that people want save too. maybe give them to the US Navy for target practice?
 @Exiled_Patriot Practice? It will be awhile before the guns cool down enough from two decades of never ending war to start shooting practice.