Senate passes bill cracking down on ‘dangerous’ abandoned boats

After encountering no rough waters in its three committee stops, a bill designed to address abandoned, dilapidated boats in Florida’s waters cruised through its final vote in the Senate.

The chamber voted 37-0 for SB 164, which would increase penalties for violations of the state’s derelict vessel laws.

It would create a free long-term anchoring permit program for boat owners who want to affix their vessels within one nautical mile of an anchorage point for 14 days or more within a 30-day period.

Under SB 164 and its House analog (HB 1149), vessels that violate long-term anchoring mandates would be subject to penalties ranging from a $100 fine to a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in damages.

The bill also authorizes grants for local governments participating in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) derelict and at-risk vessel program. FWC defines a derelict vessel as one that is “wrecked, junked, or in insubstantially dismantled condition upon any waters” in Florida.

“They are dangerous for our environment, and they are expensive to remove,” said Doral Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, the bill’s sponsor.

She said SB 164 “aims to address these problems by making it easier for law enforcement to identify the owner of a vessel and to determine if a vessel is a public nuisance or at risk of becoming derelict.”

Derelict vessels have long been the bane of many local waterways. Along the Intracoastal Waterway or any one of hundreds of tributaries that run through the state, errant boats can go adrift and be found aground.

Some municipalities have already taken matters into their own hands. Indian River County, for instance, has a derelict vessel removal program that partners with the FWC to get those boats out of the way and allows residents to report such disabled watercraft.

And municipalities within that county have gotten increasingly aggressive about removing derelict boats, in cities such as Vero Beach and Indian River Shores.

Lawmakers passed legislation in 2024 to further limit overnight anchoring in certain parts of Biscayne Bay. But the bill, which passed with just two “no” votes from Republican House members, did nothing to address long-anchored but abandoned boats whose deterioration over time contributes to the bay’s health maladies, according to Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones, who also filed legislation this Session to deal with the problem.

He told Florida Politics that during a tour late last year with Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez, he saw how debris from the decaying vessels affected the bay and contributed to buildups in the city’s stormwater drainage system.

“We’ve seen an increase in individuals who are out on the water or living on the water, and while it’s great that people are enjoying the beauty of Miami-Dade County, our law enforcement officers must have what they need to keep up with that increasing activity,” he said. “So, we’re looking to increase marine patrol on our waters while also giving maintenance departments the resources they need to do their job.”

Miami-Dade began counting the derelict vessels it extracted from its coastal waters in 2007. Last August, the county surpassed 500 boats removed.

Jones’ bill (SB 1812) proposes changes similar to those in SB 164 but includes no heightened penalties. It has no House companion and has not received a hearing.

HB 1149, sponsored by Miami Beach Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe, has cleared two of three committees to which it was referred and awaits a hearing before the State Affairs Committee, after which it would go to a floor vote.

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Drew Dixon of Florida Politics contributed to this report.