Possible migrant boat washes ashore in Melbourne Beach with rusty engine, no occupants
After floating at sea from an unknown port, a blue makeshift wooden-frame boat washed ashore Friday morning in Melbourne Beach, sparking mystery as to the fate of its potential passengers.
Waterlogged, the possible migrant vessel was outfitted with a rusty engine and driveshaft bolted near its center — and its sparse contents included thin ropes, aging burlap bags, a white bucket and a black baseball cap.
“I couldn't say for sure where it came from," Melbourne Beach Police Lt. Matthew Smith said.
Video: Mystery derelict boat made of foam blocks washes ashore in Satellite Beach
Mystery boat: washes ashore in Satellite Beach; Coast Guard unaware of its origins
"I know there were no markings on it to say that it was a registered-in-the-state-of-Florida boat. It did look like it had some handmade things in it," Smith said.
"It was floating south. But then, with the way the weather is right now, that's the way the current’s running. So who knows where it actually came ashore — or if there were people in it or anything?" he said.
Three weeks ago, a mystery derelict watercraft similarly floated ashore between Pelican Beach Park and Cassia Boulevard in Satellite Beach. Though the origins of both vessels remain unknown, their landings occurred amid a marked increase in Cuban migrants interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
#Final @USCG Cutter William Trump's crew repatriated 68 Cubans, Fri.
"USCG crews, our partner agencies are rescuing people further away from shore. The vessels aren't built to survive the sea, putting more lives at risk & some losing their lives."
Read: https://t.co/wXHbAcyziC pic.twitter.com/YqFqqXPaDW— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) November 4, 2022
Friday, the Coast Guard repatriated 68 Cubans to their home country after responding to an array of homemade, rustic and migrant vessels off the Florida coast, a press release said.
Since Oct. 1, Coast Guard crews have interdicted 1,374 Cuban migrants. That figure surpasses the number of Cuban migrants interdicted during fiscal years 2021 (838), 2020 (49), 2019 (313) and 2018 (259).
"Coast Guard crews and our partner agencies are encountering and rescuing people further away from shore," Capt. Ben Golightly, chief of response for Coast Guard District Seven, said in the press release.
"These vessels are not constructed to survive the crossing, putting more lives at risk and some even losing their lives at sea," Golightly said.
Smith said Melbourne Beach officials reported the Fifth Avenue beached vessel to Coast Guard officials in Jacksonville and Port Canaveral.
“We did receive a few phone calls this morning that the boat was kind of floating south, and it had been washed ashore around Fifth Avenue," Smith said.
"The officers went down and checked it out, saw that there were no people in it — but there was an engine in the center of it with a gas tank on it. And due to that, we contacted the fire department," he said.
Barnacles clung to white foam blocks bolted to the sides of the watercraft's sheet-metal hull, secured with wooden boards. Small baitfish swam inside the waterlogged vessel as it laid just outside the surf zone.
The larger unoccupied vessel that washed ashore Oct. 11 in Satellite Beach was made of white foam blocks with a rusty metal frame — and it contained two pairs of sneakers and two backpacks. Red spray-painted "OK" lettering along the starboard-side foam indicated the U.S. Coast Guard previously encountered the boat at sea.
The blue Melbourne Beach boat did not appear to have such markings.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Raft, possible migrant boat washes ashore in Melbourne Beach
