Taxpayers on the hook for state's derelict boats
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SEATTLE -- Mike Swinkles has reason to be happy. He has a gorgeous new home right on the water of the Eld Inlet. There's only one problem.
"Are you referring to the boat down there?" he asks while he laughs. "It's an eyesore."
Swinkles powers up his small boat's motor and gets a closer look at a rotting corpse of another ship. It's partially beached under some trees and has deteriorated so badly, there's no markings or identification.
"Half of it is already broke off and gone away," Swinkles said disgustedly.
He said chunks of the boat have broken off in recent months and floated under his dock. No one knows when it was abandoned or where the owners have gone. Taxpayers will have to fix it though.
The Program
At Olympia's Swanton Shipyard, owners are tinkering and repairing boats in need. Melissa Ferris is here to see boats beyond help. She manages the Derelict Vessel Removal Program for the Department of Natural Resources.
"Most of them have reached the end of their useful life," she said while standing on the Four of Us.
Absent owners leave the boats adrift where they pose serious risks for pollution and even explosion. The job of Washington's vessel removal program is to find these rotting skeletons and dispose of them.
First they go after owners to pay for the removal. But when owners cannot, or will not pay, taxpayer dollars eat the cost. That's becoming the norm.
There are currently 226 abandoned vessels across Washington. That list has grown by about a third in three years. They are dealt with in order of safety priority.
The Deep Sea and the deep problem
The Deep Sea was not considered one of those priorities until it exploded and sank in Penn Cove in May. Arsonists torched the boat, and fishing at the nearby mussel farms had to be shut down for a time. Eventually the EPA and Coast Guard raised the ship to the surface for dismantling.
Cleaning up that one vessel nearly wiped out the entire budget for the year.
"For the same amount you can use to remove one ship, you can probably remove 50 smaller vessels," Ferris said.
The Deep Sea's owner had no insurance, and refused to pay fines. he is now missing and the department has no resources to track him down.
"The funding wasn't there to back up the authority that we have," Ferris said.
The program is funded through taxpayer dollars and a $3 registration fee on boats. It's an annual budget of $1.7 million. The disposal of The Deep Sea alone cost $1.5 million. The department estimates it has $5.6 million in unpaid fees and fines dating back years.
The others
Between laughs, Barbara Clift repeats a common sailor curse: "Everything on the water costs a lot more."
She and her husband dream of turning their 1940 Canadian military ship into a floating vacation home. Instead they look out on two rusted ships with peeled paint and corroded metal. The Clifts worry about them sinking, but also for damage in a storm.
"One day we had woken up and it had broken loose and it was drifting over this direction," she said.
The Golden West and Helena Star are moored on Hylebos Bay in Tacoma. They are considered high priority ships for the removal program and likely for good reason. In March, the Coast Guard found the Golden West listing up to twenty degrees with 20 thousand gallons of oil on board.
Tax dollars paid for divers to patch the ship and create a containment boom.The aging ships have been in poor condition for so long, there's even a tree growing out from the hold.
The caretaker refused to speak about the boats on camera but said he doesn't have the money to scrap the ships. Fellow boaters like Bill Halls are frustrated.
"Since they were brought in, nothing has happened except they go up and down with the tide," he said.
So they drift like hundreds of others. On a growing government watch list with a growing tab. Skeletons without a graveyard.
"Are you referring to the boat down there?" he asks while he laughs. "It's an eyesore."
Swinkles powers up his small boat's motor and gets a closer look at a rotting corpse of another ship. It's partially beached under some trees and has deteriorated so badly, there's no markings or identification.
"Half of it is already broke off and gone away," Swinkles said disgustedly.
He said chunks of the boat have broken off in recent months and floated under his dock. No one knows when it was abandoned or where the owners have gone. Taxpayers will have to fix it though.
The Program
At Olympia's Swanton Shipyard, owners are tinkering and repairing boats in need. Melissa Ferris is here to see boats beyond help. She manages the Derelict Vessel Removal Program for the Department of Natural Resources.
"Most of them have reached the end of their useful life," she said while standing on the Four of Us.
Absent owners leave the boats adrift where they pose serious risks for pollution and even explosion. The job of Washington's vessel removal program is to find these rotting skeletons and dispose of them.
First they go after owners to pay for the removal. But when owners cannot, or will not pay, taxpayer dollars eat the cost. That's becoming the norm.
There are currently 226 abandoned vessels across Washington. That list has grown by about a third in three years. They are dealt with in order of safety priority.
The Deep Sea and the deep problem
The Deep Sea was not considered one of those priorities until it exploded and sank in Penn Cove in May. Arsonists torched the boat, and fishing at the nearby mussel farms had to be shut down for a time. Eventually the EPA and Coast Guard raised the ship to the surface for dismantling.
Cleaning up that one vessel nearly wiped out the entire budget for the year.
"For the same amount you can use to remove one ship, you can probably remove 50 smaller vessels," Ferris said.
The Deep Sea's owner had no insurance, and refused to pay fines. he is now missing and the department has no resources to track him down.
"The funding wasn't there to back up the authority that we have," Ferris said.
The program is funded through taxpayer dollars and a $3 registration fee on boats. It's an annual budget of $1.7 million. The disposal of The Deep Sea alone cost $1.5 million. The department estimates it has $5.6 million in unpaid fees and fines dating back years.
The others
Between laughs, Barbara Clift repeats a common sailor curse: "Everything on the water costs a lot more."
She and her husband dream of turning their 1940 Canadian military ship into a floating vacation home. Instead they look out on two rusted ships with peeled paint and corroded metal. The Clifts worry about them sinking, but also for damage in a storm.
"One day we had woken up and it had broken loose and it was drifting over this direction," she said.
The Golden West and Helena Star are moored on Hylebos Bay in Tacoma. They are considered high priority ships for the removal program and likely for good reason. In March, the Coast Guard found the Golden West listing up to twenty degrees with 20 thousand gallons of oil on board.
Tax dollars paid for divers to patch the ship and create a containment boom.The aging ships have been in poor condition for so long, there's even a tree growing out from the hold.
The caretaker refused to speak about the boats on camera but said he doesn't have the money to scrap the ships. Fellow boaters like Bill Halls are frustrated.
"Since they were brought in, nothing has happened except they go up and down with the tide," he said.
So they drift like hundreds of others. On a growing government watch list with a growing tab. Skeletons without a graveyard.
Note that it is the rich who are complaining about these ships. they are having their views impeded by these "eye sores". Maybe these rich folks should buy the ships for a dollar and scrape them so their view improves and leave the taxpayer out of it.
were's all the metal thieves or recyclers when you need them. put up a sign free metal scrap and it should be taken within a few days. can't tell it needs scraping without a sign hanging on it. Â even if they cut them down to the water line it will be a lot cheaper to scrap the hull then the whole ship.
 @32jim2 They aren't known for their adherence to environmental requirements - they'd probably dump a lot of the other materials into the water...including asbestos.
The guesstimated 20,000 gallons of fuel is probably what is called bunker fuel. It should be
pumped out immediately before the vessel actually sinks or capsizes.  If that much fuel is
allowed to enter a marine environment, it would be an ecological disaster with ramifications
for the immediate area that might be felt for several decades.
(Referencing the M/V Golden West mentioned in the article.)
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Rember---"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
 @pete1427 Agreed - but who ends up paying for that?
 @OrcasThunder the removal of 20,000 gallons of fuel should
be very profitable for any individual willing to undertake it.Â
 @pete1427 That's a possibility.
You might want to pass that along to the reporter who wrote this article.
 @OrcasThunder If it is indeed bunker fuel as I expect, it
can be used as the prime ingredient in road asphalt without the
need to re-refine it. Bunker fuel is needed for repair of our road
infrastructure. It could truly be a win-win situation.
 @pete1427 Perhaps - it depends on how polluted it is.
dosent look like its sinking, park it back in the bushes and rent it out to pay for its grave.arent these those times?
 @maggie112 You do realize these things contain oil and other toxic substances, don't you? If they rust out those things would be leeched into the water or soil - and you would need to remove them before you could rent the vessels.
We would not want it any other way.......NOT!!!!!!!!
Taxpayers are on the hook for everything in this State.Â
Owners won't pay so the rest of us have to foot the bill? WTF??
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Please publish the names and photos of the deadbeat owners along with their whereabouts - we tax payers would like to have a word with them.
 @Smokin Bear "Please publish the names and photos of the deadbeat owners"
Kinda hard to do that when we have no idea of who they are or where they are...it's as bad as oil companies dumping sludge in backwoods areas using unmarked trucks at night.
@OrcasThunder @Smokin Bear - I was being sarcastic...LOL
 @Smokin Bear arent we just lucky the owners dident leave a bigger mess? tax payers stop hanging your selves, be SMART about YOUR money. these folks too probably are tax payers and F'ed like the rest of the tax payers that left them F'ed
 @maggie112  @Smokin Bear "these folks too probably are tax payers"
Some are. But a lot of the larger craft belong to overseas shippers who don't pay WA taxes, and many may have been used by drug runners and simply abandoned when the run is done.
Pump out all the vitals of these boats and give the Navy some target practice.I would say in the Straits or way off shore in deep water so no one can dive on it.Not that I am against divers, it would cost more in the begining by getting rid of all dangers along with the vital fluids.
Well, that's just great. More money out, less money in.
Just put it up for auction for scrap haulers to bid on.
Helena Star is a nefarious boat involved in a dope smuggling operation back in the 70s. Should almost be considered as a historical vessel.
We don't allow cars to be left abandoned along the road.
So why can't the state go after any and all income or property that is owned by a boatowner like this? Seems to me that if the State AG's office would work with DNR and take these owners to civil court and ask for money and/or property, that could be a way to come up with the funds to get rid of derelict boats.
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Maybe abandoning a derelict boat should be a criminal offense. That could give the state more teeth to solve the problem.
@Veteran
Boats are harder to identify.   All you have to do is scrape your state ID numbers off and remove the manufacture ID plate off the boat and thereâs not much for people to use to find the owners. And abanding boats is a crime.
exactly.
if its not in the path of a ferry let the private interests duke it out. by the way; I'd rather have 20 marinas of rotting boats than a bunch of mcmansions ruining our shorline and pretending they own the beach [which is a god-given public right-of-way.] Â The Sound should be treated like our grand canyon, not as a revolving door for retirees.Â
 @deeznutz "if its not in the path of a ferry let the private interests duke it out."
The problem with that is that those interests DON'T take care of it...you talk of "McMansions", but many of those derelicts are owned by people or companies who don't think they need to take responsibility for their losses, who feel that they have the right to simply park and walk away - leaving the cleanup to others.
And it's not like just towing the car away..."The disposal of The Deep Sea alone cost $1.5 million."
Just ask Obama for the money. Â He has plenty. Â he just created "5-million jobs" this month too. Â
 @sentryone And yet consider who it is that is leaving these derelicts for the government to clean up...rich companies and rich people who think it is their PRIVILEGE to leave their crap in someone else's front yard, who see the shoreline of other people as THEIR Park and Walk parking spots.
The poor and middle class do not own these kinds of boats, most of the commercial vessels are owned by corporations - often based in other countries for tax purposes - who could care less who ends up cleaning up their mess, as long as it isn't them.
So...if you want to make this "political", have at it...it is the mentality of the 1% that creates this mess for the rest of us to pay to clean up.
still waiting to hear some follow-up on the Penn Cove incident - any charges filed against that loser Rory Westmoreland? any interest in finding out who the arsonist was?
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no? ok then....
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after a few parking tickets you can be "booted" but these delinquent boat owners can just say "oops i can't afford this" and thats that?
 @SwampThing "but these delinquent boat owners can just say "oops i can't afford this" and thats that?"
It's their "privilege", don't you know...the 1% & wanna-Be Romney-esk mentality.
i don't know about that.
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i'm sure these people can't afford it, but that's not my, your, the states, or Penn Coves problem.
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personal responsibility, where have you gone?
 @SwampThing "i'm sure these people can't afford it"
I'm not. It's not unknown for shipping companies to simply dump old vessels when they are no longer profitable, and not worth the salvage costs.
Or it could be drug/arms runners who simply used the ship and then cut it loose.
It seems like after contacting the owners, if we start scraping these boats, less damage and cost is done. We may even make money if you sold the parts for scrap. Maybe an enterprising young company can go scrap the boats for the government (within our budget) and they get to keep all the money from the recycled metal. Just an idea.
 @kockatoo:Â
In concept, a very good idea. In reality, there are HUGE costs associated with scrapping vessels. One of the vessels noted in this sotry has 20,000 pounds of fuel aboard - fuel that has been sitting for some time. It is probably contaminated, so cannot simply be pumped into another vessel & put to good use. Instead, it has to be properly disposed of. Bilges (the sewer of a boat) have to be pumped, and all the contaminates dealt with. Machinery has to be cleaned & disassembled before it can be scrapped. The rust accumulation lowers the value of the metals involved in the superstructures. If they are still in the water, containment booms have to be erected. There are many costs involved - it is not asimple matter. It is too bad there is no data registry of boat/ship owners so that their other assests could be attached to try to recoup some of the cost of cleaning up their messes.
 @kockatoo Not just an idea, a great idea!
Why was this allowed to happen? It would seem this isn't a taxpayer issue and Gregoire is trying to make it? Who was in charge of the marina?
 @funky-munky:Â
It is not a "gregoire" problem, as many on here seem to be trying to make it. Derelict vessels have been a problem for decades - it is only now that it has reached a critical point as more people are abandoning vessels at the same time that resources to deal with the problem are drying up.
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There is a saying about boats - "a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into". Many in this area have lost that money and rather than deal with their vessels simply walk away, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up after them. The article touched on the biggest issue - there is simply no budget for DNR to put any teeth into the program - and owners know this.
 @Funky-Munky The problem seems to be that the boat/ship owners simply park and walk away, leaving the marina owner hanging as well - or, in other cases, simply beached on the shore...
"Swinkles powers up his small boat's motor and gets a closer look at a rotting corpse of another ship. It's partially beached under some trees and has deteriorated so badly, there's no markings or identification.".
It's hard to bill someone when you can't find out who actually owns the thing...
 @OrcasThunder Fooey.... I was hoping for a better outcome for taxpayers... rats.
With the prices of scrap metal being what it is, I would tow them to the closest scrap metal yard and give these boats to them. Win-win for all parties involved.
 @James127 You're correct. Some of these vessels have several miles
of copper wiring and have brass fittings. The ferry Kalakala's superstructure is
primarily aluminum, but her status as a derelict vessel keeps changing with the
political wind. The smaller vessels made of wood, or fiberglass have little, or
no salvage value and that fact represents just one of the state's issues with
"derelict vessels".
And people wonder why we're in a deficit. So Gregoire. Does this count as those desperate cuts we need to make. Doesn't really seem like it! So if you want more of the same endless BS, vote Inslee!
 @Zoso "And people wonder why we're in a deficit."
How can you blame the Governor for rich people and corporations simply abandoning their boats on the shore - and leaving no way to trace who owns the thing? Perhaps you need to point at the 1%'rs and foreign interests who do this...you know, the Romney think-alikes...
 @OrcasThunder Well with that logic, we have to hold the people whoever were responsible for allowing that one precious desk to wear out, you know the one that Gregoire wanted to spend a large amount of tax payer money to have restored. Why exactly are the rich people responsible for letting us put up the funds to fix their vessels?
 @zoso:Â
The *desk* did not simply wear out - it was nearly 100 years old. AND it was not the governor's decision to repair it - that was done by a completely different entity entirel (the Capital Furnishings and Preservation Committee)y, and it was NOT all tacxpayer's money that paid for the restoration.Â
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It would have cost much more to replace it IF they could have even found something vaguely similar (doubtful). Personally, I think a peice of furniture that lasted nearly a century, when you break it down to an annual amount, is a VERY good bargain. The desk is 84 years old. 50% of the cost was raised through PRIVATE donations, leaving $5000 for the balance. Divide that by the age of the desk - the restoration cost $60 a year (rounding up).
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There are MANY historiuc furnishings throughout the capital in Olympia, and they are a part of our history - should they simply be tossed on the rubbish heap & replaced with cheap cubical-quality modern day garbage when they begin showing their oage/wear & tear? Have you ever been on the floor of either house in Olympia? I have - the furnishings are a large part of what makes them magnificent. Should we simply scrap what is there & buy a bunch of office furniture at Boeing Surplus to replace it? I think not.
 @Zoso "getting your point across and making me understand it, which I can tell you ain't gonna happen."
Obviously.
Understanding without pictures isn't part of your lexicon...
 @OrcasThunder Also, yeah, we don't own these things, therefore our money shouldn't be used to pay for this crap! Yes they do need to be scrapped! I don't ever recall saying otherwise. You clearly didn't get my point!
 @OrcasThunder Well considering we're in a deficit that the "democrat losers" have put us in, and considering the bad economy where we're all struggling and being taxed to death, maybe desperate isn't really that far off! And last I checked, I never said the owners should NOT be responsible to fix their own problems. I pointed out the fact that WE are paying for their crap. And considering the fact that you're resorting to calling names such as losers, you really must be desperate to getting your point across and making me understand it, which I can tell you ain't gonna happen.
 @Zoso "Why exactly are the rich people responsible for letting us put up the funds to fix their vessels?"
You robopublican losers are really getting desperate, aren't you?
First, why SHOULDN'T we taxpayers expect these owners to fix their own problems?
Second, what you seem to miss is that poor and middle class people do not own these things - it is people with money and corporations, often overseas, who are dumping these hulks...hulks that do not need "fixing up" they need to be scrapped. And they are dumping them because the cost of towing and scrapping is more than the scrap is worth. They remove any ID marks so the hulk cannot be traced back to them.