One county’s community-based approach is making a difference.
Walk on any dock at a Port or marina in Oregon and you’ll likely see some boats in less than pristine condition. And for many other boats, their “remains” signify an end to their usable life and can be seen on many a riverbank or partially submerged in Oregon waterways.
What people may consider to be “abandoned or derelict,” varies. An old, deteriorating, or damaged boat is not necessarily a derelict boat (yet)! There are specific definitions in state law which dictate actions that can be taken and by whom.
Measurable Improvement in Lincoln County
Deputy Dion Blake has been with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol since 2012. When Deputy Blake first started learning the ropes, he noticed the lack of compliance in motorboat and sailboat registrations walking the docks in Newport. Both the Port of Newport and nearby Embarcadero Marina had dock after dock with expired boat registrations. At the time, getting access to owner information was very time consuming. Then, reaching out to owners for their specific compliance issues also proved challenging.
Technical innovations were made by the Marine Board so marine law enforcement can now look up boat ownership information using a mobile application. The app allows officials to document boats out of registration compliance, geocode the location, and access information of the last owner on record. This tool saves significant time and assists enforcement officials to start, and in some cases, finish work in the field.
Deputy Blake led a pilot program for the app, and in so doing, became a passionate leader to improve documentation, and cut down administration time, while building relationships between boat owners, the Port and marina, and Marine Board staff. The app is now being used by authorized marine patrol programs throughout the state.
Coordination and Communication
Once the last owner of record is found, then comes the notification piece. Deputy Blake reaches out to the Port of Newport to see if their collective owner information lines up. A letter is first sent by the Sheriff’s Office giving the owner 10 days to respond and remedy the situation and the boat is “tagged” with a vessel registration violation sticker. If the owner complies and renews the boat registration, Deputy Blake informs the Harbormaster and no citation is issued. The boat is still on everyone’s radar though. If the owner does not respond or comply, the status is communicated with the Port’s Harbormaster and the owner is sent a citation. Now two sets of eyes are on the boat, looking for deteriorating conditions over time.
On the Landlord side, the Port of Newport has lease agreements in place with its tenants. Each person who rents a boat slip signs an agreement to not only pay monthly or yearly for the slip, but also provide proof of insurance and have a valid registration to receive basic services like power, pumpout/dump station use, and security. The Port has the authority to revoke or turn away boats wanting to rent a slip that doesn’t comply with its agreement or state law. In some cases, slip renters are evicted. The Harbormaster will also try to reach the owner and if they are unsuccessful, they reach out to Deputy Blake, and the clock starts counting down. Both the ADV route and landlord/tenant civil suits can be pursued.
Formal Notification Process
Next step seizure notifications are twofold: Deputy Blake works with the Port’s Harbormaster to tag the boat with a pre-seizure notice.
- The owner can request a hearing to challenge the vessel seizure within 30 days and claim the boat to remedy the condition. If they don’t hear from the owner, the boat is seized.
- The boat is then tagged with a seizure notice and moved to a staging area for removal and the same process begins again. If they don’t hear from the owner after the now 60 days expire, plans are made to dismantle and destroy the boat.
The Port of Newport is fortunate to have a location nearby to store the vessels during the seizure timeframe and has the equipment to dismantle the boat for disposal in a landfill. Working together and with boat owners, the Sheriff’s Office and Port have a strong system in place and now have the best registration compliance in the state.
Abandoned and derelict boats are a statewide issue with pocket removal projects underway. To learn more and stay up to date on developments in ADV removals being done in coordination with the Marine Board and Department of State Lands, see our detailed blog.
