Bascome alerts Marine and Ports over derelict boats
The East End’s shores are littered with decaying and sunken derelict boats, sparking complaints from residents to get them removed.St George’s North MP Kenneth Bascome said he had alerted Marine and Ports, who have told him “they are going to be addressing the issue”.The Department relies on the public to alert it of derelict vessels, and tries to work in tandem with boat owners to recover or remove them.Mr Bascome said, as a new MP, he’d heard numerous constituents voice irritation and concern about the boats dotted around St George’s.“They’re an eyesore, and it’s not something that just happened last month,” Mr Bascome said.“These boats have been there for some time. I believe they are also hazards, particularly with boats that are submerged — if you’re not aware of them, you can easily have an accident.”He listed off one submerged in Ferry Reach and another on the shore, plus a sailboat on Banjo Island in Mullet Bay, where two boats are also sunk in the water.Another sailboat lies on the rocks at Stokes’ Point.“There’s one on the rocks over at Emily’s Bay, two submerged in Coot Pond and three that are delapidated over on the Tobacco Bay side,” Mr Bascome added. “I believe some were damaged and people just dumped them.”He called on the owners to help remove them rather than expecting Government to “bail them out”.