The end is in sight for a derelict vessel that has been moored to a publicly owned dock for the past three months.
An abandoned barge, formerly the Vancouver Yacht Club, has been moored to the dock at Metro's M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp since March. Photo courtesy: Nick Christensen/Metro.
The floating building called "Vancouver Yacht Club" has been moored at Metro's Columbia River dock since March while officials searched for ways to get rid of it and looked for the owner.
Parks stewardship director Justin Patterson says the vessel has damaged the dock, and blocked access for other boats. Patterson says he is pleased that on Tuesday, the owner agreed to sign over the vessel.
"We were able to contact him and put a deal in place that gave us possession of the vessel so that we could actually do something with it, which will be removal and demolition," Patterson says. "He has no means to be able to do that, and it's illegally moored at our facility and we wanted to get rid of it. And so this is the best approach available to us."
Metro plans to finalize an 80,000 contract Wednesday with a demolition company. The Oregon Marine Board's derelict vessel fund may reimburse part of that. But Patterson doesn’t expect to get money from the former owner, or from the Coast Guard, which ordered the vessel onto Metro property. The contractor will have to get the Coast Guard’s permission to tow the vessel away to a demolition site.
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