The Tagish the tugboat that measures 107 feet World War II tugboat, was finally removed after two months of submerged slumber.
The 81-year-old, uninsured wooden vessel sank to the south of the cruise ship’s docks in December of last year, after a frigid weather snap that could have damaged the pipes. The sinking ended a decade-long restoration project by local Juneau resident Don Etheridge.
The Tagish was sinking with about 60 gallons diesel fuel as well as 50 gallons of lube oil aboard The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to tackle the issue of pollution.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”The vessel was infected,” said Chief Mike Ryan of the Coast Guard’s Incident Management Division. “It was an extremely old vessel that had a number various fuel tank types .”
The clean-up concluded in the last week of September was more than two weeks to complete and estimated at least $650,000which is a sum that Ethridge was not able to cover, as they did not have insurance on the vessel, was not able to be able to cover upfront.
If boat owners aren’t equipped to remove pollution or waste, it is possible that the Coast Guard may be called to help. Most often, this happens when a vessel sinks.
“We encounter this issue maybe 3 or 4 times per year within Southeast Alaska. This isn’t something that happens each week.” Ryan said. “But I’d say that in the future there’s going to be more problems with older vessels. I believe that’s the nature of being the marine community.”
It’s difficult to bring old vessels back in their glory like Etheridge tried. At the time of sinking, he had rebuilt the interior and a portion of the deck, costing hundreds of thousands.
“It is a bit scary to consider the amount I invest in this,” Etheridge said.
However, in certain cases it’s harder and more costly to eliminate them.
“It takes a little sum to get rid of a boat” said Etheridge who also serves as chairman of the Juneau Docks as well as the Harbors board. “It’s more cost-effective to continue paying the mortgage than to sell that boat.”
For a long time, Etheridge even had the boat insured.
“And then , the insurance company told me that they would not be able to renew my insurance,” he said. “They cancelled my insurance. Due to how old the vessel considering how old the boat is.”
Just like that Etheridge’s project for a hobby also was a danger. In Alaska as well as other coastal states, old age of the fleet is an environmental risk that is costly. According to the findings of a study by an Alaskan-based McKinley Research Group, 54 percent of the boats located in Southeast Alaska were built before 1980, which is well beyond the normal lifespan of most vessels.
Owners of vessels that are older are usually faced with a limited choice.
“The Tagish is a symptom of a larger problem,” said Juneau Harbormaster Matthew Creswell. “There is no simple efficient, cost-effective means of disposing of vessels once they have reached the limit of their usefulness.”
Old tugboats, in particular they have been the cause of numerous issues in Juneau over the past decade. The first were The Challenger, a 71-year-old wooden tugboat that went down close to the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge in 2016. It took six weeks and more than $2 million to repair.
Then there was the Lumberman was sunk. The Lumberman was destroyed and then sunk in 2021, following it was abandoned on the state-owned tidelands and city for a number of years. The disposal was a cost to the Juneau Docks along with Harbors $160,000, plus an additional $70,000 provided by the federal government.
When the vessels were first abandoned when they were first abandoned, Alaska was a state that Alaska had weak laws regarding responsibility for abandoned or abandoned vessels. As for both the Challenger or the Lumberman it was almost impossible to hold someone responsible.
Vessels weren’t required to be registered with ownership titles prior to the passage in Senate Bill 92, which was passed in the year 2018. The law requires every boat that is longer over 24′ to have a state-issued registration. It also gives municipalities and the state the ability to take a proactive approach in the removal of defunct vessels prior to their sinking.
The law grants municipal and state organizations like Juneau Docks and Harbors the power to detain or imprison vessels that are considered abandoned or abandoned. This authority is rarely utilized, and in the majority of instances, there isn’t any money to support them in doing this.
Etheridge has anchored his Tagish on the town-owned National Guard dock, which is an “non-moving” vessels’ area. Even though Etheridge claims that the vessel was safe to sail, he was unable to go out on it because of the price of fuel.
According to Creswell that vessels operating in different areas of the harbor have to be able to prove their seaworthiness at least three times per year.
“Unfortunately the Tagish did not fit to any of these regulations.”
He adds that the boat was not abandoned.
“Mr. Etheridge purchased the vessel and had excellent goals for it” Creswell said. “He was a responsible owner. He made daily inspections of the vessel, and by all accounts, he was doing everything in a perfect way.”
Although SB 92 introduced a framework for dealing with hazards on vessels but it leaves a grey zone when it comes down to the long-term, older restoration projects such as the Tagish the Tagish, according to Holly Wells, a lawyer who works for the Anchorage firm Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot. Wells was a key contributor to the law.
“I believe there’s a solid argument to suggest that it is still within the definition of a defunct vessel. However, despite the motives,” she said.
The final burden of proof for this classification falls to the state or the municipality.
Rachel Lord, former executive secretary of the Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators and Port Administrators, also contributed for SB 92. She believes that the state must to keep developing strategies for the fleet that is getting older.
“These massive old boats are a liability, they’re huge. They’re beautiful. They’re an integral part of our history,” she said. “But every one of them has a life span and that clock is in motion and the ocean environment isn’t a pleasant one. If that clock does run out, but it will be gone, and the cost is huge. So the issue is: “Who will bear the burden? Who is responsible for the cost?”
In this instance it’s Etheridge. However, a cost of greater than half of a million can be an enormous burden for boat owners who own private boats. It is possible to use the federal Oil Spill Liability Fund could be utilized to eliminate pollution in cases where owners aren’t able to cover the expense.
“Theoretically owners are responsible,” Lord said. “But this isn’t an endless amount of money to which will be used by the Coast Guard is just going to be allowed to continue with a constant basis to handle all of ships.”
Chief Ryan from The Coast Guard says there have been instances where payment plans have been established however, in most cases the entire amount is not paid back. The costs are too high for the majority of boat owners.
At the moment, Etheridge says he does not know the amount he’ll have to pay, or when.
“I haven’t had a single word. They’ve never spoken to me,” he said.
In certain circumstances insurance could be the best option. It is able to cover the costs of sinking as well as pollution reduction However, the state doesn’t require any vessel insurance, of any kind, and most municipalities don’t. Juneau, Skagway, Haines, Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan aren’t subject to insurance requirements whatsoever.
A smaller, 20-foot boat that was not insured was sunk into Statter Harbor. The owner isn’t able to retrieve it.
In place in insurance Juneau Docks and Harbors charges the “Vessel Disposal Surcharge” of $0.25 cents per foot that Etheridge had to pay. Contrary to its name, the money is not directly to disposal of the vessel. Instead, it is put to the larger Docks and Harbors operating budget.
In the last Docks and Harbors meeting, Creswell stated that he would like to increase the fee. The board could consider requiring insurance also, even though he claims insurance won’t help older vessels.
“There are some boats that, as you can imagine I’m not going to call them uninsurable, but they are difficult to insure because of the age of construction and age,” he said.
In the end, Juneau Docks and Harbors is not able to establish a solid financial structure that can assist with the process of removing vessels.
In the other states along the coast particularly Washington harbors are required to implement the minimum insurance requirements for vessels moored in a marina. In Washington, the Docks and Harbors discussed Washington’s method at their recent meeting, however it’s unclear whether it will turn into the model for Juneau. The bottom line is that Wells thinks that Juneau’s Docks and Harbors team should not be required to lead the way.
“The further we are able to accomplish at a state-level the better,” she stated. “Because municipalities have to bear the burden of having to adopt strict laws or making insurance provisions which affect their relationships with the people who use their harbor. It can be damaging.”
The challenge is state-wide. In Washington it is the Department of Natural Resources has an account to assist in removal and disposal costs in addition to a turning in of boats that is open to owners of boats. Lord suggests that these options could aid in tackling the problem.
“You’re taking care of it in a proactive manner instead of dealing with sunken vessels as well as cleanup and mitigation as well as all the other problems that can occur when a vessel is beginning to break to pieces,” she said.
If there’s sinking the federal government might intervene. However, in Alaska it is the Abandoned und Derelict vessels Program isn’t as effective, nor does it have the state does not provide funding.
Etheridge who owns a second wooden boat, which is still floating in Juneau Etheridge says he is feeling like there are only a few choices.
“I’ve been up all night due to the issue,” he said.
