 Hurricane Maria impacting the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, September 2017 (Photo Credit: NOAA).
Upcoming Webinar
When Disasters Strike: A Panel on Debris Response and Removal
September 30, 2025
6:00 p.m. EST/AST, 12:00 p.m. HST
English
It’s officially hurricane season. This TIPS webinar will feature a panel discussion to share successes and challenges encountered during large-scale removal efforts targeting debris from tropical cyclones.
Español
Oficialmente es temporada de huracanes. Este webinar de TIPS contará con una mesa redonda en la que se compartirán los éxitos y los retos encontrados durante las operaciones de remoción a gran escala de desechos de ciclones tropicales.
Last Webinar
Did you miss the last webinar? Don’t worry! We got you covered.
We had great presentations from:
- Becky Skeele, Pacific Coastal Research and Planning (PRCP), Commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI);
- Sandra Schleier, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), Puerto Rico; and
- Brittany Burtner, Marine Resources Office, Monroe County, Florida.
*Puntos clave en español adelante. Spanish translation of key points below.
 FV Charito being disassembled for its removal in August 2024 (Photo Credit: Pacific Coastal Research & Planning).
Questions from the public
We ran out of time for questions, but our presenters were able to answer them after the webinar. Here are their answers.
Questions for all the presenters
How do you factor in habitat restoration into your Abandoned and Derelict Vessel (ADV) removal projects?
- Becky - We are limited to what is allowable under the grants that fund the removals. We do incorporate coral translocation and replanting into our environmental best management practices, in which a local marine biologist moves any corals out of the immediate removal impact zone to a nearby staging area for the duration of the removal project in order to protect them from impact from heavy equipment. Upon project completion, the marine biologist then works to replant the corals in the ADV scar in an effort to facilitate regrowth and restoration.
- Sandra - When vessels are selected for removal, they are inspected to locate any coral or important invertebrates such as sea urchins and those are returned to the reef. After removing an ADV from a reef, the area is usually not restored unless determined by the DNER. If the ADV is removed from sea grass, the area is restored with sediment bags.
- Brittany - We do not have funding available to conduct habitat restoration after the removal of ADVs, but it is an activity for which we hope to secure grant funding in the future.
How receptive and involved is your local community in your removal efforts?
- Becky - Overall very supportive! Most of the ADVs that we have targeted for removal have been hazards and eyesores plaguing the communities for decades, so they are very supportive of our efforts. We work very closely with local government officials and community leaders to both identify/prioritize ADVs for removal and throughout the permitting and removal processes. So while these are technically PCRP projects, they are a very collaborative effort.
- Sandra - The community is very receptive to removal efforts, however, more outreach and awareness is needed to involve them in a way that contributes to prevention. Many would love to help out more however they lack the resources.
- Brittany - The community is broadly supportive of ADV removal efforts and is generally well-informed about the issue.
Is the local community educated on the impacts that the derelict vessels have on the local ecosystem and the prevention efforts?
- Becky - Our previous removal projects have had a limited community education component. However, our current ADV removal project on Rota will include a CNMI-wide community outreach and education piece, in which PCRP staff will develop and implement a comprehensive program focused on ADVs, their impact, and prevention. These outreach efforts will occur most likely in winter 2025-26.
- Sandra - They are educated in the impacts however more awareness and education is needed on prevention.
- Brittany - In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we actively work to keep the community informed about ADVs, including their prevention, impacts, and removal. As a result, the community is generally well-informed on the issue.
What steps has your local government taken to prevent derelict vessels in the future?
- Becky - None that I am aware of.
- Sandra - The implementation of Law 35; which defines an ADV and allows locals to adopt an ADV while it is still floating and in relatively good condition, preventing it from ending up in the landfill or grounded in the ocean.
- Brittany - In partnership with the state (Florida), we actively promote the Vessel Turn-In Program, are working to establish two mooring fields in high-density unmanaged anchorage areas, and advocate for legislation that enhances the management of long-term vessel anchoring.
Virgin Islands doesn't have room at our landfills for ADVs and disposal is very expensive. What about ADV's left on land? Is sinking ADV's in deep water an alternative if hazards are removed, to become dive spots. Is there equipment for grinding up fiberglass vessels?
- Becky
- Sinking ADVs (after cleaning) could be an alternative disposal method, although it has not been an option for any of PCRP's projects as it would not be allowable under any of our funding sources.
- None of the vessels we have removed have been fiberglass, so we are not well-versed in fiberglass disposal options.
- Sandra
- USVI has their own protocols but in Puerto Rico we try to come up with other alternatives because landfill space is also limited such as recycling, fixing up or even reusing as art sculptures.
- Puerto Rico has no fiberglass grinding equipment as far as we know. If a vessel is made of fiberglass, it cannot be sunk. If made of a different material and all hazards are removed, it could be an alternative with a well structured plan of location and measures to secure it in place. However, this process is very costly and not cost-effective.
- Brittany
- Monroe County does not have landfills either. All ADVs are processed into smaller pieces and sent to a transfer station, where the debris is trucked to the mainland.
- Sinking vessels in deep water is not a permitted alternative in Florida unless the vessel is properly prepared and authorized as an artificial reef through a rigorous permitting and environmental review process. This includes full removal of all hazardous materials and compliance with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission artificial reef program requirements. Because of the high cost, complexity, and regulatory hurdles, this is not a practical or scalable solution for most ADVs.
- As for fiberglass disposal, the lack of cost-effective fiberglass recycling methods is a statewide and national challenge. There are several companies currently running pilot projects, however there are none that I am aware of that are currently operating at a commercial scale in south Florida.
Specific questions to presenters
Becky
Do any of the jurisdictions have legal authority to require the boat owner to fund the salvage/disposal?
Sandra
What factors are considered in prioritizing which ADVs to remove first? I assume hazard to navigation is #1, but how about hull composition, salvage costs?
- Once declared an ADV with no owner or legal case related to it, or is considered a navigation hazard, the most important factors to prioritizing are:
- Potential spill or hazmat presence
- Other current and potential impacts to the ecosystem, especially if near Endangered Species Act protected species or turtle nesting grounds.
- If the area has become an ADV dumping site.
- Represents a navigation hazard.
- Salvage costs determine how many boats we remove but do not determine priority.
Can you share more about the seven citizens ready to follow the Law 35 SOP to adopt ADVs? Are the citizens business owners, recreational fishermen etc.? When they adopt the boat, do they remove the boat from the water? Leave the boat in the water? Do they become legally responsible for the vessel they adopt?
- The seven citizens are locals who boat recreationally.
- While they are in process of adopting the vessel, the ADV does not have to be removed. However, if the vessel is sunk or partially sunk, the adoptee has to float the vessel in order to proceed with the adoption.
Brittany
Are there any jurisdictions either requiring, or considering requiring, insurance to operate in regulated waters that would cover salvage?
- No, Florida law does not mandate that recreational vessel owners carry insurance. Legislative attempts to establish such a requirement have consistently failed over the years.
Resumen en Español
*Nota: ADVs= embarcaciones abandonadas y desatendidas, por sus siglas en inglés
Becky Skeele
Directora Ejecutiva
Pacific Coastal Research and Planning (PRCP)
El PRCP es una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en Saipan, Mancomunidad de las Islas Mariana del Norte (CNMI por sus siglas en inglés) quienes recientemente incorporaron dentro de su portafolio la remoción de ADVs.
La zona de CNMI, Guam, Palau y Micronesia están localizados en una zona altamente propensa al impacto de tifones los cuales pueden ocurrir a través de todo el año.
La remoción de ADVs en CNMI representa varios retos como lo son:
- Falta de personal con expertise técnico o equipo que requiere ser movilizado de otras jurisdicciones. Esto implica pago de hospedaje y dietas para los trabajadores durante meses.
- Opciones de disposición limitadas, aunque intentan reciclar, pero no siempre es viable. Los espacios de disposición locales son limitados y muchas veces requiere exportar los desechos a otras de las islas cercanas con un poco más de disponibilidad. En adición se requiere identificar lugares de almacenamiento de los desechos en lo que pueden ser exportados.
- Ecosistemas retantes, nuevamente, susceptible a tifones que producen pausas en los esfuerzos de remoción. La geología del área puede también representar un obstáculo referente a accesibilidad de maquinaria.
- La presencia de varios naufragios desgastados que llevan décadas abandonados y se han oxidado, requiriendo personal más especializado.
Con fondos de NOAA MDP y la National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, lograron remover dos botes pesqueros, el Lady Carolina y el Charito, en adición a pedazos de embarcaciones ya en pedazos grandes de metal que se acumularon en playas, afectando a los visitantes y el turismo.
En un proyecto que está en progreso, removerán de la isla de Rota cuatro embarcaciones de hierro.
En PRCP han hecho alianzas con otros sin fines de lucro en Palau para la remoción de otros tipos de desechos de metal.
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Sandra Schleier-Hernández
Coordinadora de Encallamientos
Dpt de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA)
La Ley 35 del 2024 surgió para trabajar sobre el problema creciente de las ADVs en Puerto Rico. La mayoría de las ADVs son recreacionales o asociadas a encallamientos.
La Ley 35-2024 enmienda lo que es la Ley de Navegación (Ley 430-2000) y da una definición oficial a ADVs para Puerto Rico. Establece además el proceso legal para remover, disponer o transferir titularidad, y fomenta la responsabilidad de los dueños de las embarcaciones. Da jurisdicción al DRNA para remover o poseer un ADV luego de identificarla y notificar mediante al menos tres métodos que ayuden a localizar el dueño. Los métodos de notificación incluyen la colocación de una pegatina en un lugar visible de la embarcación y anuncios públicos en medios de comunicación. La embarcación será clasificada como ADV si no responden dentro de 30 días.
La colocación de las pegatinas ha ayudado a identificar dueños.
La Ley 35-2024 también permite el transferir ADV en buenas condiciones a alguna parte interesada si no se identifica un dueño luego de los 30 días. Siete ciudadanos han comenzado el proceso de adoptar embarcaciones como resultado de la implementación de la ley.
Actualmente están en el proceso de actualizar el inventario de ADVs en colaboración con la Guardia Costera de Estados Unidos. Hasta el momento han añadido 10 nuevos ADVs a la lista. La comunidad ha sido proactiva compartiendolas según las encuentran ya que han notado que las están monitoreando.
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Brittany Burtner
Administradora Senior
Marine Resources Office, Condado de Monroe
El programa de ADVs del Condado de Monroe lleva 17 años operando en una asociación interagencial en los Cayos de la Florida.
En este tiempo han desarrollado estrategias para ofrecer servicios como remoción de embarcaciones, marcadores en el agua para navegantes, áreas restringidas a los botes, alternativas gratuitas para eliminar aguas residuales semanalmente para botes anclados afuera, iniciativas de anclaje y amarre, y reparación de rampas. Los fondos provienen del registro de embarcaciones recreativas, fondos por subvenciones federales y por asignación legislativa del estado.
La mayoría de los ADVs son menores de 50’. Una de las maneras en que se están generando ADVs y que ha traido problemas adicionales es el anclaje por tiempo extendido:
- Florida no tiene un límite de tiempo para anclaje de embarcaciones.
- Han documentado daños ambientales, impactos en la navegación, basura, acceso reducido para usuarios en el área pues las zonas pueden estar concurridas.
Manejo de la situación
Los roles del condado y los oficiales de orden público son distintos. Los oficiales son quienes determinan el estado de abandono, investigan y pueden someter casos si el dueño aparece. Si no, pasan una carta de autorización al condado para poder comenzar con la remoción. El condado por su parte determina fuentes de subvención y coordina los esfuerzos de remoción, y poseen además una lista de contratistas cualificados para hacer las remociones de manera adecuada.
El proceso de remoción en el Condado Monroe es el siguiente: Autorización de los oficiales de orden público> determinación de la fuente de fondos (1-8 semanas)> anuncio a contratistas precalificados (2-4 semanas)> otorgación del contrato al mejor postor (hasta 5 semanas)> remoción de la embarcación.
Durante los 17 años del programa han logrado remover alrededor de 1,400 ADVs a un costo aproximado de $9,000,000.
Algunas estrategias que están utilizando y han demostrado ser efectivas incluyen el no poder transferir la embarcación si está bajo investigación como ADV. Si el estado utilizó fondos para remover un ADV, el dueño no puede registrar otra embarcación a su nombre hasta que reembolse al estado por los costos incurridos en la remoción de la embarcación que estuvo a su nombre. Crearon además un sistema de entrega de botes voluntariamente antes de que se conviertan en ADVs.
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