This winter, South Florida vagrants are increasingly traveling in derelict boats left along the coast, a new squatting “phenomenon” that local sheriff's offices first brought to light last year. That's what Fox News Digital found out.
“This is a revelation for 2023. We've had homeless and vagrants here in Martin County for quite some time. It's not on a large scale, but we do have people who are on the move temporarily. There were issues as well. These were two separate issues,” Chief Deputy John Budensiek told FOX News Digital in a Zoom interview this week.
“But as our maritime agents began citing, tagging and removing these vessels, they learned last year that many of these vessels were inhabited by vagrants.” he continued.
Late last year, local media reported on the growing number of vagrants boarding derelict boats and how much the Martin County Sheriff's Office is doing to remove boats and squatters or bring some of the derelict boats into law. We have begun to report on what efforts are being made. A derelict vessel is defined as a vessel found in a waterway with at least two violations, which can range from missing a motor to leaking fuel. Dumping an abandoned boat is a state crime and can result in imprisonment or fines.
Martin County is located on the east coast of South Florida, approximately 40 miles north of Palm Beach. Budensiek told Fox News Digital that the area is a popular spot for boaters, fishermen and tourists, with many sailboats traveling to and from the Bahamas from the area.
“One of the by-products of having so many vessels in our region is that some of these vessels tend to become severely dilapidated and become inoperable. , some of these owners abandon them or sell them to someone who does not re-register their vessels. Those people, in turn, either stay on these boats or keep them until they are completely unusable. We operate ships. And they, if they have the ability to carry fuel, can sink, leak fuel, leak human waste, and become a real danger to us environmentally. “It will be,” he said.
Abandoned boats have been a problem in the area for years, but the deputy chief said the number has only increased in the last year. He said as 2023 draws to a close, the sheriff's office tallied at least 50 boats abandoned last year, all of which ended up being cited by authorities. Of her 50 boats, 29 were removed and destroyed, and the rest were brought into compliance.
Budensiek clarified that the vast majority of people squatting on boats are not homeless, working to find work and get off the streets. Rather, the deputy chief describes them as vagrants, many of whom are drug addicts, suffer from mental illness, and are people who are making no effort to break free of squalor.
“Overall, vagrants seem to be temporary. Unfortunately, in South Florida, vagrants come from northern communities where it's cold this time of year. We have an influx of them, and we're trying to make the best of it.” But they have the right to do certain things. So we want them to succeed, but they come in and work hard and pay their taxes and especially in this case we “We don't want to disrupt the quality of life of the people who are trying to keep our waterways safe and clean,” he said. .
But differentiating between a compliant, dilapidated boat and a derelict boat inhabited by squatters can be a difficult task, Budensiek explained.
“It's hard to differentiate. There are many ships that are inhabited and functioning, you or I may not stay there, but they are habitable,” he said.
The Sheriff's Office, whose mission is to dispose of derelict boats or bring them into compliance, works with the U.S. Coast Guard to inspect boats anchored outside of area waterways. Checking whether regulations are compliant.
“We're patrolling and testing these boats that are anchored just outside the waterway. Testing means going out and making sure the lights are working so they can be seen when they're trying to go through the waterway at night. “I mean see if you do.” he said.
Budensiek said the best way to determine if a boat is derelict is to test for sewage leaking into the water from the vessel.
“Really, our environmental concern is that most of them don't have functional bathrooms. What's happening here in our county is that vagrants “It's squatting down and using the facilities. And the facilities on the boat are literally draining directly into our estuaries, our oceans and rivers,” he said.
“Environmentally, this is a disgusting problem that we are grappling with, and we are trying to identify who these people are, which vessels they are, and cite them, eliminate them, and our We're doing everything we can to remove it from our shores and shores,'' he said.
Authorities are dropping dye into the toilets of suspected sunken boats to see if it leaks into the water, he said.
“They're also doing tests with dyes… They're flushing this dye down the boat's toilet system. And if the dye comes out in the water, it means the boat isn't healthy and it's actually draining the sewage. “We can see it leaking into the estuary,” he said.
Since the pandemic, reports of people squatting in homes have increased across the U.S., including in Florida, but Budensiek said the problem hasn't affected them as much as other areas. Instead, the office deals with boat squatters and people who travel to Martin County in RVs.
Asked if typical land-based squatting problems have increased in recent months, he said: “No, there are only a few such cases.” But what's happening here is individuals coming into the county in RVs. Again, this is similar to how we're dealing with these vessels, he stays in the RV until it stops working. And they leave it on the side of the road,” he said, adding that squatters occupying derelict boats is a “new phenomenon.”
Removal and destruction of derelict boats can be expensive, ranging from $7,000 to $40,000. Budensiek said the removal costs are being paid for from boaters' registration fees, not from residents' tax bases. A portion of the boater registration fee is set aside expressly for the purpose of removing derelict boats “to make our waterways an attractive place for residents and those who come here to enjoy our waterways.” He said there is.
