Boats fill the Morro Bay harbor, but not all of them are being used. The city is hoping to demolish eight abandoned boats, and with funding secured, they’re now working to find someone to do the work.
“The abandoned boat issue is not anything new,” said Jeremiah O’Brien, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President.
Eight boats considered hazardous and abandoned in Morro Bay are headed for demolition. The latest, the Aquafen, was given the designation at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
For more than a year, the city has been trying to recover more than $12,000 in unpaid fees from boat owner Jason Maher and have him either pay to dock his boat at the North T-Pier or remove it, a city staff report states.
“I see a future where Aquafen spends winters in Morro Bay,” Maher said during the meeting.
With the Aquafen at risk of sinking and an environmental hazard, according to the Harbor Department, the boat is now set to be demolished.
“When you don’t maintain a boat, chances are it will sink eventually and those toxins will go in the bay,” O’Brien said, adding that having a boat yard in the harbor would be a big help to some boat owners.
“Boat yards help people maintain their boats,” he said.
As far as the demolition, a $38,000 grant to the Harbor Department will help make it happen by April 3.
“Disassembling, crushing them, and hauling them off. It’s expensive,” O’Brien said.
Back in 2023, five boats were demolished as part of the city’s surrendered and abandoned vessel program.
The Harbor Department says if you are interested in surrendering a boat, you can go to the harbor office to take part in the program.
