Derelict boat removal to cost Pinellas County $160,000

Pinellas County officials are pushing to get rid of derelict boats polluting waterways.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says his office has identified 32 derelict boats that are going to be removed this week, but it's going to be costly. The sheriff says his office is paying around $5,000 per boat to have them removed and destroyed. That's $160,000 of taxpayer funds going to move boats.

Gualtieri announced the effort Monday in Dunedin where one of those vessels floats.

Meanwhile, deputies are being tasked with stricter patrols to make sure deteriorating boats are removed before they become a problem. They will also crack down on people living on their boats without a motor and without the ability to navigate and propel the vessels.

Deputies will also be cracking down on illegal mooring fields.

"They are really just piles of junk that are sitting in the Intracoastal waterways that are truly a danger," Sheriff Gualtieri said. "The biggest issue I have is getting rid of them and getting them out of here. We have been through a process previously where we were citing people, but that didn’t work."

He said the reason that effort failed was because deputies weren’t able to track down the boats' previous owners.