Abandoned boats are a growing problem in Norway

Flekkefjord.A small boat sinking : Torstein Bøe / NTB scanpix

The coastline is full of abandoned boats that the original owneres are no longer willing to take responsibility for. This could cost both nature, authorities and boat owners dearly.

The problem concerns boats that people want to get rid of, which should have been condemned. There are no organized waste schemes for discarded pleasure crafts like those used for cars and other types of hazardous waste, the police told newspaper  VG.

– It is almost impossible to track down the owners, and this is also an littering problem,  Roar Isaksen, head of the Oslo police’s sea service, says.
Police have called for the return of a mandatory boat register, which was discontinued several years ago.

When boaters removes all information from the boats and let them drift off in order to get rid of them, the police will have to investigate whether there has been an accident. When they are not able to find the owners of the boats, the boats have to be stored for three months before they can be auctioned off.

– If  they are in a bad condition, they have to be condemned, and this also requires money and resources, Isaksen says .

At  the Port of Oslo section leader Øystein Nomerstad  confirms that abandoned boats has become a growing problem.
– If they have left in the water for so long that they have begun sinking, this becomes a big environmental problem as well.The costs for the removal and condemnation of a boat can range anywhere from a few thousand kroner to millions of kroner,  Nomerstad says.
The  Port of Oslo are working with the police to track down the owners of the boats.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today