A sunken shrimp boat has become part of the scenery at the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs. The owner cannot afford to have it removed and now the state will decide the next move.
A month and a half after the Skye Marie caught fire, her owner has moved on to find other work, but the sunken ship still sits in the middle of the Anclote River.
Everything valuable on board has been removed leaving a charred mess after 6,000 gallons of fuel caught fire in May, sinking the boat.
Billy Harris, the owner of the Sky Marie, has said from the beginning that he did not have insurance and cannot afford to have the boat moved.
Now, the FWC has started the process of declaring the ship a derelict vessel. That means it has been abandoned and left in public waters. The declaration will allow the FWC to move forward with the paperwork necessary to have it removed.
It could take months and other boat captains in the area say the boat is a large obstacle in the middle of the waterway.
“It’s not so much an eye sore as it is a hindrance to the fuel dock,” said David Johnson who captains a grouper boat. “Lots of big boats come in and out of there and with it being where it is right now we can’t get to and from the dock like we need to. Also, there’s a few boats there’s a few boats that actually dock at the end of the dock which is what that boat was doing when it caught on fire.”
Harris has moved to Massachusetts to find other work.
Once the boat is removed, Harris will receive a bill to cover the costs. There is no estimate on how much it could be.