ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Johns County deputy has changed the way derelict vessels are found in local waters with the addition of a dashboard tracker, making the process more efficient as derelict vessels continue to be a problem in Florida.
Over the past three years, the new method has not only helped St. Johns County but also other agencies in the region.
“It keeps all of us from triple-enforcing the same issue. I think it’s better for the entire community. It’s better for the boat owners, because they’re only dealing with one person, only one deputy. They’re not trying to manage multiple agencies investigating the same thing,” Sgt. Aaron Braddock explained.
Braddock said there are six active investigations in St. Johns County. He took News4JAX straight to a newer one they found near the St. Augustine Municipal Marina.
“Him being on the ground like that…we consider it derelict if it is aground, an entire tide cycle," Braddock said.
Some of the boats look like they belong in a pirate movie.
“This is an example of one of the shrimp boats. The owner of that boat actually has three derelict boats right now, all of which are sunk,” Braddock said.
Braddock knew the area well. He also recognized there was a better way to track these boats, which can be dangerous to people and the environment.
Before the new system, tracking was largely based on word of mouth. Braddock helped create a dashboard that multiple agencies across the state can use.
“We have removed roughly 65 derelict boats,” he said.
Some of them are not derelict yet, but are tracking to be. Boat owners with at-risk vessels can turn them over to the state for free removal. Otherwise, they risk criminal charges and losing the ability to transfer the boat’s title, depending on how long the vessel remains abandoned.
The dashboard makes it easier to keep track of these cases.
“Now we can track each of the derelict investigations or even the at-risk investigations,” Braddock said.
For boats marked as derelict, the sheriff’s office contracts work to remove them, often removing multiple boats at once.
A repeat derelict boat offender could face felony charges.
Boaters cited for derelict or at-risk boats can apply for the Florida Vessel Turn-In Program through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.