The City of Miami is trying to figure out what to do with dozens of boats that wound up on Watson Island after Hurricane Irma.
After Irma struck last September many of the boats were severely damaged and capsized. The city was able to consolidate the mess, dumping the boats on both sides of the island, in the marina parking lot and in an empty lot near the Miami Children's Museum.
“What we’ve done is we’ve picked them up throughout the city and put them in one place so that we can easily and safely destroy and remove them," city spokesman Eugene Ramirez said Tuesday.
In the more than seven months since Irma, the city says the U.S. Coast Guard came in to drain the fuel and oil from the boats. Officials said they're also working on an agreement with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to destroy the trash in an environmentally friendly way.
"We know it’s a long process. The Coast Guard had to come out here and drain these boats, remove all the fuel and the oil. Anything that can be dangerous to the environment, that’s already taken place," Ramirez said.
Not only are the mounds of nautical trash an eyesore, but with hurricane season right around the corner they could be a projectile concern.
Cleanup is expected to be completed by June 1, which is the start of the Atlantic hurricane season.
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"The work itself has to be done before June 1st. We want to make sure that we’re ready before Hurricane season," Ramirez said.
