The removal of a scallop boat that ran aground nearly 20 months ago began Oct. 25 after an agreement on funding for the $295,000 project.
The scallop boat, once named the Ocean Pursuit and Cameron Scott, ran aground in March 2020 in the beach south of Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Oregon Inlet Campground. The boat was abandoned after attempts by the National Park Service failed to get the owner to remove the boat.
Cape Dredging Inc. from Buxton, North Carolina, is expected to take approximately 30 days to remove the vessel.
“The National Park Service is continuing our attempts to recover costs associated with the removal of the derelict vessel from its registered owner,” David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said in a press release. “This process has taken longer than expected, so Cape Hatteras National Seashore determined it was necessary to use a combination of fund sources to remove the vessel before it potentially becomes more expensive to remove later and to minimize impacts to the environment."
Workers will remove sand that has accumulated around the vessel, as well as deck structures and all sand and water from compartments under the deck surface, the release stated.
Then they will cut the vessel into smaller, manageable pieces and transport these pieces onto a tractor-trailer for removal to a disposal or recycling site.
After that, they will restore the natural shape and slope to match the surrounding beach.
The removal area is declared a construction zone, but is not expected to impact beach access, the NPS stated.
