Vessels no longer docked forever: state comes to the rescue

OLYMPIA – Since abandoned boats and barges found in the waterways of our communities pose a threat to the health and safety of residents and the environment, Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Kitsap County, has proposed a bill to provide more money to help tackle the significant number of derelict vessels accumulating in our state’s waterways.

“There seems to be an ever-increasing number of abandoned vessels in our waterways which have the potential of contaminating our water,” said Rockefeller. “Some vessels are not yet abandoned but perilously close to it. We need to begin identifying these vessels sooner and provide more money to clear them out.”

Senate Bill 6044 would require marinas that lease permanent vessel moorage to collect contact information from the lessee as a condition of leasing a space. The bill would require a derelict vessel removal surcharge on vessel registration fees until the backlog of derelict vessels has been eliminated. In addition, there would also be a transfer of $4 million each biennium to the derelict vessel removal account from the state oil spill prevention account.

SB 6044 is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation Committee at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 in Senate Hearing Room 2 of the John A. Cherburg Building in Olympia.

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