Wrecked boats to be removed from Cornwall

A number of wrecked boats could be dismantled and removed from rivers, foreshores and waterways in Cornwall.

The Cornwall Harbours board is due to meet on Thursday after an increase in vessel abandonment causing issues in ports, harbours and marinas.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the board was likely to agree its maritime team appoints a licensed contractor to dismantle, remove and dispose of all vessels identified as unserviceable.

It said the cost to remove and dispose of the unserviceable boats and wrecks was likely to reach £165,000.

Martyn Alvey, vice chair of the Cornwall Harbours board, said the number of wrecks and unserviceable boats in the council's harbours and ports, as well as those in rivers and creeks, were "a significant problem".

He said the cost of disposing boats was the main challenge for boat owners.

He added: "With a fibreglass boat, you have the challenge of getting it to a disposal location. But then because it has no value, you face paying £500 a tonne to dispose of it."

Alvey added the lack of paper trails detailing boat owners was also a challenge.

He said that in France, the purchase price of a new boat includes a contribution toward the vessel's disposal, and the boat licensing scheme supports disposal centres.

A report to the board said: "The removal of all vessels detailed in this report will require the use of the Cornwall Harbours General Reserve, or harbour specific reserve, if all are to be removed in the next financial year to meet the balance of disposal costs."

Vessels identified as unserviceable in Truro include Another One, Lafala, Atalanta, Tee Surveyor, Urchin and Sundancer in Penryn.

Alvey said the focus would initially be on wrecked boats before the board considered action of some 20-25 unserviceable boats in the council-owned ports and harbours.

Much of the Fal river was not controlled by a harbour authority and so wrecks could not be removed by the Ports of Truro and Penryn, he added.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.