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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some 200 derelict boats in nearly a dozen Port of Los Angeles ma rinas are the target of a $300,000 disposal program that crushes such vessels into oblivion. “These boats are a pollution threat,” port deputy operations director John Holmes said, “Beyond that, when they sink, they become a mutual problem for fire and police authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard, all of whom have more important things to do with their time.” The plan is to get rid of up to 200 derelict boats by Janu ary and improve the quality of life for the area’s 11 marinas. The boats are towed to Berth 194 where they are lifted out of the water by a giant claw crane and crushed. The disposal service is of fered free to people who agree to sign their vessel over to the port. Before disposal, fuel tanks are drained and flammable and toxic chemicals removed. Doomed boats are identified by bright red identification numbers, which has become a bit of a problem because they lure scavengers. “We're trying to deal with that problem by making the time between cleanup, towing and destruction as quick as pos sible,” Holmes said. One of the first boats into the crusher was the 44-foot fishing trawler Nereid. Owner Nadine York said it was the pride of her late husband, but it languished in the marina after he died in 1998.
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Barstow Desert Dispatch
Barstow, California, US
Wed, Sep 05, 2007
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