Every year, hundreds of owners abandon their boats. These derelict boats are becoming an increasing burden for shipyards and marinas. There is no quick solution to the problem in sight.
Using a thick felt-tip pen, Jörg Ruelius draws a symbol on the chalk-marked hull of the little sailing yacht “Trixi”. A circle with a cross, and beneath it the letters “PF”. “Approved for stripping,” he says, taking a step back. “If anyone comes along and needs a spare part – they can unscrew whatever they like.” He’s glad for every single part, every gramme, that he doesn’t have to sort by type, unscrew or saw apart.
‘Trixi’ is not the only abandoned boat on the premises of his shipyard and winter storage facility on the Ems-Jade Canal in Wilhelmshaven. Rust and peeling paint, blistered hulls and weathered wood are to be found everywhere. In the cockpit of a sailing yacht lie a bucket, rags and cleaning products, as if someone had simply popped out for a break – were it not for the murky water in the bucket, the weathered rags and labels. A motorboat is missing its hatches; fenders covered in verdigris bear witness to care that is long gone.
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The shipyard grounds read like a boat-tinker’s encyclopaedia, ranging from ambition to decay. Further up are the successful ones: sailing and motorboats carefully propped up on blocks, whose owners pay on time, tinker with their boats in winter and set sail again in summer. The good customers.
In the middle of the long, narrow site, things become a bit more chaotic. Here, DIY enthusiasts and restorers are still hard at work, some of them for years. One of them has parked a caravan next to his boat. He drops by when he has time, but that’s rarely the case. The refit has been progressing in small steps for three years, “but the owner is paying his rent, and that’s certainly a decisive factor,” says Ruelius.
Big plans end up in the ‘boat graveyard’
For the past ten years, he has been running Jade Yacht Service as a do-it-yourself business. He came here as a DIY enthusiast himself, first buying a scrap boat from his predecessor and eventually taking over the whole business – a place for people who dream of owning their own boat but don’t have the money for an expensive marina with all the mod cons. At Ruelius’, they can refit their own boats on favourable terms or simply carry out the usual winter storage work, with his help if necessary. The concept has been well received, but Ruelius is paying a high price for his idealism.
Further back on the site lies his ‘boat graveyard’. Not even the bright spring sunshine can make things look any better here. Wild blackberries are beginning to climb up trailers and lake fences. Ruelius estimates that around a third of his fifty berths, both on land and in the water, are occupied by abandoned boats. Hundreds of boat owners came to him with grand plans; in ten years, only one has managed to turn what was practically a heap of scrap into a seaworthy boat.
Scrap boats lead to months of legal proceedings – and costs
The process is often the same. “Someone turns up here, all excited and with bulging arms: ‘I’ve bought a boat. Can I restore it here?’”, says Ruelius, describing a typical scene. Then, in return for a contract and rent, they’re given a berth with an electricity supply; the boat is delivered and placed on a trestle. “At the start, there’s a real sense of euphoria,” says Ruelius, shrugging as he continues: “And then you gradually start to see that wane – the presence, the work done.” It usually doesn’t take long before the rent stops coming in either – the sign that it’s not going to work out.
If the owners then go into hiding, stop answering the phone and refuse to accept post, a process lasting several months ensues: a payment order, the magistrates’ court, and a bailiff. “It always takes at least half a year and costs a fortune in fees, which I have to pay up front,” says Relius. Added to this is the loss incurred because the pitch cannot be re-let and, in the worst-case scenario, a great deal of work and expense involved in clearing the site.
In theory, the costs associated with scrap boats are borne by the owner
Tim Buchmann is a solicitor at the Kiel-based law firm Tanis | Von der Mosel and is familiar with every aspect of the issue. As long as the owner covers their costs, everything is fine, provided the boat does not pose a hazard. “But if the boat becomes a risk – for example, if it sinks, or if fuel or other fluids leak out and pollute the environment – action needs to be taken,” says the lawyer, pointing out one of many possible problems. “In such cases, an environmental hazard can also be reported to the local authorities. They can then order that the vessel be removed. The costs are borne by the owner.” His firm frequently receives enquiries from shipyards, marinas and winter storage operators. “These operators often have outstanding claims against the vessel’s owner – claims for payment of labour arising from shipyard work or storage fees,” explains the lawyer.
Why the owners abandon their boats makes little difference to the operator in this context: “He has the boat on site and needs a legal basis.” Obtaining that can be a lengthy process. “If the operator has outstanding claims against an owner, he can assert liens. At some point, these will then exceed the boat’s value. The prerequisite, however, is that one first obtains a title, i.e. pursues legal action against the owner,” explains the lawyer. “If the owner does not come forward, the marina operator cannot simply say: ‘I’m going to leave the boat by the side of the road now.’” Buchmann emphasises that what needs to be done must be clarified on a case-by-case basis. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution.”
Death creates further obstacles
Things can become particularly complicated if the owner has died. “In that case, you have to find out when and where they died. You have to make enquiries at the probate court and explain why you are entitled to know this. You have to track down the heirs and clarify whether they have accepted or renounced the inheritance at all,” explains Buchmann. This rarely takes less than a year to sort out – in the first instance, with further proceedings possibly to follow. Buchmann therefore recommends establishing clear contractual arrangements from the outset. “For example, so that the boat can be disposed of, allowing the space to be used to generate revenue again.”
As a shipyard or warehouse operator, you should take a close look at the situation even as a contract nears its end. “Contracts are often concluded for a single season and then renewed. In the case of boats where the situation could become critical, it may not be possible to renew the contracts subsequently. If the boat is then not collected, you could bring a legal action to enforce collection.”
Bureaucracy, disposal or resale
So the stories behind the boats constantly call for different solutions. Ruelius knows them all. One man pumped his boat dry during the day; at night, the pump sank it. An Austrian only realised, after buying a large steel cutter, that he couldn’t take it home upstream on the Rhine with a 20 PS inboard diesel engine. Transport by piggyback was too expensive, “and then health problems came on top of that”. The boat stayed behind; the owner has gone.
Ruelius points to a small red sailing boat on a road trailer. The owner has gone into hiding. The boat and trailer could cover the outstanding payments – if only the trailer weren’t registered in the previous owner’s name. “He’s got the papers. But I don’t know who that is.” Once again, the solicitor has to step in. Meanwhile, the boat and trailer are losing value, but continue to incur costs. The man from Wilhelmshaven spends whole days dealing with bureaucracy, disposal or resale. He even simply gives some boats away.
The cut-open hull of a fibreglass boat is piled high with sawn-up parts from other scrap boats. Disposing of them costs 1,250 euros per tonne. But first, Ruelius has to strip down all the other materials from the masthead to the keel and sort them by type. He raises his arms briefly and lets them fall again. It’s no use.
Two types of boat owners leave behind dilapidated boats
In his experience, two types of owners are particularly prone to leaving behind such a mess: “The young ones come here, tear everything apart and then realise they’re completely out of their depth – in terms of time, money and know-how,” he explains. YouTube has sparked their dreams of life on a boat, but reality presents them with an unimaginably huge mountain of work. Feeling overwhelmed is the first step towards giving up on the project, after which rent payments stop. That’s why Ruelius always advises young, ambitious people: “Just cobble the thing together roughly to start with, so you can sail safely. Have fun on the water!” You’ll find out best where work really needs doing once you’re actually out on the water anyway.
Then there are the older people who can’t bring themselves to let go. “Many are clearly no longer able to drive for health reasons, but they don’t want to sell either,” he says, speaking from experience. “They simply hold on until death do them part.”
There is simply no time to instruct a bailiff for each of these cases, as Ruelius is more or less running the business on his own. He now earns his living by building specialised containers for wind farm operators – a lucrative contract that keeps him fully occupied and affords him the dubious luxury of managing other boat owners’ scrap.
No quick fix for waste disposal problems
Johannes Christophers, Technical Advisor at the German Maritime Industry Association, is well aware of the full scale of the growing disposal problem: “There are around 6.5 million fibreglass boats in the EU, with a lifespan of around 50 years. This means that around 30,000 to 40,000 boats reach the end of their service life every year.”
Whilst scrap boats are not a problem for all shipyards, “to date, there is neither a standard price nor an organised, uniform infrastructure for their disposal, nor are there any relevant local regulations.”
His association is therefore calling, together with the European Boating Industry (EBI), for a roadmap for a circular economy for boats, setting out specific reform measures. Key demands include the introduction of specific EU waste codes for composite materials, the promotion of scalable recycling solutions, and permission for shipyards to dismantle boats locally. This could ease the burden on shipyards and provide them with an additional source of income.
The demands also include improvements to boat registration and data collection. “That would also help the industry and could boost trade,” says Christophers, as it would be beneficial for both insurers and lenders.
But until that time comes, shipyard owners and local authorities will have to deal with the legacy of past pollution. Not everyone will describe themselves as “over the moon” about it, like Ruelius, who has turned his hobby into a career through running the business. Behind him, masts tower into the sky. Some will sail again. A third, however, will meet their end here, despite all the best intentions.
Fabian Boerger
Editor News & Panorama