By Michelle Switzer
The Columbia rests on the bottom of Pemaquid Harbor at low tide March 24. The U.S. Coast Guard could take the boat out to sea and sink it. (Photo courtesy Sherrie Tucker/www.sherrietucker.com) |
The U.S. Coast Guard could soon sink the fishing vessel Columbia, now declared an abandoned vessel by the town of Bristol.
The Columbia has been a topic of discussion among the selectmen and the Bristol Harbor Committee for most of the time it has been moored in Pemaquid, with residents and town officials raising concerns about safety and environmental issues.
During the last harbor committee meeting, the committee officially declared the vessel abandoned in accordance with the town’s harbor ordinance, and declared it a threat to the safety of the harbor, according to Hanna.
The ordinance deems a vessel abandoned when it has not been in operation for 60 consecutive days or when “the vessel is sinking or a threat and its owner cannot be contacted by good faith effort prior to the need to act to prevent personal, property, or environmental damage.”
After the ship recently dragged its mooring more than 100 feet, representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard met with the Bristol Board of Selectmen and Bristol Harbor Committee to discuss what to do with the vessel, board of selectmen Chairman Chad Hanna said during the board’s meeting Wednesday, March 25.
An original estimate of 300 yards was incorrect, according to Pemaquid Harbor Master John Stolecki.
Hanna said the Coast Guard can offer significant help by hiring a contractor to pump out the vessel’s engine oil. The Coast Guard would bill the owner for the work.
“The engine is the only thing of real value,” he said. “We can try to figure out how to remove the engine (and sell it) to offset some of the costs.”
Hanna said the Coast Guard can initiate the “ocean disposal process” by applying for the proper permits.
Once the vessel has been determined to be environmentally safe, the Coast Guard would take it to a designated area away from any land and sink it, Hanna said.
Lt. Cmdr. Tim Balunis, chief of incident management for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, said Bristol is trying to exhaust all available options for the Columbia.
“(Ocean dumping) is generally seen as a last resort … we know the ownership, to the extent the ownership exists, has not been very helpful,” Balunis said.
Balunis deferred to the Environmental Protection Agency when giving a timeline for the ocean dumping permitting process.
“It can take some time and rightfully so, as the EPA wants to make sure that people who have these vessels aren’t just dumping them anywhere,” he said.
According to Balunis, the EPA typically “wants to make sure the dumping site is at least 12 miles offshore, in an area away from fishing areas.”
“At this point, the Coast Guard is waiting on directions from Bristol,” Balunis said.
Hanna said the town attorney is in the process of legal review to make sure the town is not overstepping its bounds.
No dates have been set yet, but the process has been started, Hanna said.
Columbia owner James Sheehy was unavailable for comment.
In other news, Hanna’s fellow selectmen re-elected him as chairman during the March 25 meeting.
