Four boats were removed from Bremerton’s Phinney Bay through a Department of Natural Resources action on Thursday, addressing a series of derelict vessels the agency has been dealing with for several years.
A large crane went to work at dawn on March 26, pulling four boats that have been on the state’s list of derelict vessels through thick fog and then transporting them away on a barge. A DNR spokesman confirmed a contractor was working with the state on the removal, and said that six boats in Phinney Bay rose to the priority list for removal due to “continued worsening condition and lack of proper attention.” Two boats were removed by owners, after being contacted by DNR, according to Troy Wood, the state’s Derelict Vessel Removal Program manager, but the four that remained were all unlicensed and registrations had lapsed more than six years ago. He added that the particular boats had been reported as coming off of anchors, drifting onto beaches, and were a threat to sink.
Wood said the removal action was triggered both by the condition of the boats, as well as the circumstance that all four were in close proximity. When numerous boats on the state’s removal list are in the same area the DNR contractor can work more efficiently, Wood said, bundling the removals to get more done with a single trip…