South Carolina congressional staff tour abandoned boats near Charleston Harbor

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Local agencies are calling on South Carolina lawmakers to help them clean up abandoned boats in Lowcountry waterways.

Wounded Nature Working Veterans and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources invited staff from Congresswoman Nancy Mace and Senator Tim Scott to tour these derelict boats in the Charleston Harbor. Representative Tom Hartnett had seen these before, and growing up in the Lowcountry, he said it has gotten worse over time.

“I grew up here, I grew up on the water, I’ve watched the boats all my life. I’ve noticed that the numbers have grown – looking out today I can see there’s more boats in the anchorage,” said Hartnett.

These abandoned vessels pose several dangers as obstacles to boaters and a threat to our ecosystem. Many of the boats are composed of fiberglass, have hazardous chemicals, and are filled with debris that eventually breaks down and pollutes the water. Over time, it presents a larger problem to the state’s shellfish industry.

“If you eat seafood you don’t want shellfish that’s been eating fiberglass, which fiberglass is nothing more than glass strands that’s encapsulated with plastic,” Rudy Socha, CEO of Wounded Nature Working Veterans, said.

Socha noted there are around 30 derelict boats scattered around the harbor currently. Some of them are even from out of state. However, Sens. Hartnett and George Campsen are working on bills in the statehouse to crack down on the issue.

“Senator Campsen’s bill which was just passed gives DNR and law enforcement the teeth they need to start going after these boats,” Hartnett said. “My bill that I proposed, which is still sitting in committee would be a mechanism to stop the vessels from coming in that would require marine recovery insurance for vessels that anchor in the water for more than two weeks and then, there’s a third component which is a funding mechanism.”

Wounded Nature has been able to remove the derelicts out of the water by private donations or agencies offering to help them for free. Now, officials said federal funding is crucial, which is why they’re asking lawmakers for help.

“We’ve got about 3 million pounds of debris of abandoned boats and other debris items littering our shorelines, littering our waterways – and no state funding or federal funding to go ahead and remove it,” Socha said.

“It is not just a coastal problem, it is not just a Charleston problem. It is a problem that effects our entire state,” said Hartnett.