Abandoned boats hauled away from Oakland estuary with $3.2M

OAKLAND, Calif. - Several boats were removed from the Oakland Estuary on Thursday as part of an ongoing shoreline cleanup initiative funded by a $3.2 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Abandoned boats hauled away

By the numbers:

Two months ago, approximately 40 vessels were illegally anchored in the area. By now, they've all been cleared with the NOAA grant aimed at removing these abandoned boats, which often become shelter for unhoused residents. 

Oakland Police Chief James Beere said at a news conference that the cleanup has resulted in arrests, and that a floating meth lab and assault weapons were also found during some of the cleanups. 

Beere warned boat owners that they need to adhere to the law, or they would be arrested.

"We're not going to put up with it anymore," Beere said, adding that he aims to "reclaim the waterfront" for the public. 

This week alone, the Oakland Police Department's Marine Unit, with assistance from the San Francisco Police Department, is pulling eight abandoned boats out of the estuary.

Contractor Lind Marine is handling the heavy lifting for the project. 

Workers are using a massive crane to hoist vessels—some measuring more than 30 feet—onto a large barge. 

On Thursday, one boat was towed from the Embarcadero Cove Marina, while another was crushed. 

The retrieved boats are taken to a separate site to be broken into pieces, reducing environmental risks.

The federal funding has also established an abandoned and derelict vessel buyback program, aimed at preventing boat owners from leaving unwanted vessels behind in the first place.

Removing boats is critical

Why you should care:

For community organizations like the East Bay Rowing Club, the removal efforts are critical. 

Members of the club participated in a major cleanup effort last weekend, retrieving hazards such as large propane tanks from the water.

Carla Jourdan, who has rowed in Oakland for more than a decade, emphasized that toxins and submerged debris pose a constant hazard to athletes who occasionally fall into the water.