The shipyards Nave Pegos, in Faro, and Vilamoura Marina are at to clean the house and will remove and dismantle several boats that were abandoned on their premises.
The operation was legitimized by two notices issued about a month ago by the Captaincy of the Port of Faro, at the request of the two companies, which will assume the costs of decommissioning.
As explained to the Sul Informação Commander Cortes Lopes, Captain of the Port of Faro, in question are boats whose owners, “for some reason, left them there and never returned to pick them up”.
Most vessels are already in a high state of degradation and, in some cases, it is not even possible to know who the owner is, as they have no registration. This does not prevent the owners from being responsible for the costs incurred by the operation. “When we know who the owner is, he is notified and is responsible for removal and dismantling,” explained Cortes Lopes.
In this process, the captaincy only ensures the administrative part, related to the official notification, with everything else having to be assumed by the shipyards Nave Pegos and by Marina de Vilamoura. Moreover, it was the two companies that asked the Maritime Authority to proceed with this action.
Although boat owners can be held responsible, the truth is that, in most cases, it is almost impossible to make them pay the costs of removal and dismantling. It is common for these boats to belong to foreign citizens.
«Not long ago, in front of Cais do Ladrão, here in Faro, we cleaned about 50 vessels. There were only two or three people who pulled the boats out of their own accord. At the time, the Polis Ria Formosa Society assumed the costs of removal and dismantling», said the captain of the Port of Faro.
Commander Cortes Lopes even confesses that he would like to see the Ria Formosa completely clean of abandoned vessels, but explains that, despite being able to take over the entire legal and administrative process, the Maritime Authority does not have the capacity – nor the obligation – to bear the costs operations.
«Not long ago I challenged the director of the Ria Formosa Natural Park to clean the river. But that has costs,” he said.
For now, some of the abandoned boats that have occupied space in two shipyards in the Algarve will disappear, which will no longer be a headache for these companies in the nautical sector.
Photos: Tiago Rodrigues, Liliana Guerreiro and Francisco Martins | ETIC_Algarve
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