One Florida county is getting to work removing boats damaged by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole
Brevard County is busy getting to work removing dozens of boats that were damaged by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“With the addition of other boats that have just been sunk over the years that are always problem boats, we’re looking to remove close to 50 right now,” Matt Culver, the coordinator for Brevard County’s Boating and Waterways program, said.
A boat that is located off Rockledge Drive south of Cocoa Village was surrendered to the state by its owner. The cost of removal? About seven thousand dollars.
Brevard County resident John Staib is just happy to see it go.
“There’s two or three down near the Indian River condo. One has a hazard because it’s sticking just below the waterline,” Stalib warned.
Read: Hurricane Ian: How to read the NHC hurricane cone graphic
Culver explained the current initiative will remove vessels from Titusville to Micco and will cost about $350,000. That funding is coming from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and tourist development grant funding.
“It’s a slow process, we except it to take probably four months to get that those 40-50 boats out of the river,” Culver said.
The county won’t seek any sort of reimbursement from boat owners.
“What’s the state did with the hurricanes this year is when the boat sunk, they reached out to all the owners and they said you have 45 days to remove your vessel, otherwise, we’re going to treat it as a standard derelict vessel, or they gave them the option to turn the boat over to the state,” Culver said.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
This means all these battered boats are headed to the county landfill. The county says this is one of the biggest derelict vessel removal initiatives its ever undertaken.
For a list of all derelict vessels mapped and monitored by FWC in Florida click here.
STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
