Port and harbors junks the clunkers

The port and harbors department is Marie Kondo-ing the boatyard.

But when tossing out what doesn't bring joy consists of 10 derelict vessels that include steel, wood and fiberglass boats, the scrapping is a multi-step process.

The Island Belle, Bonnie Jean, Tres Suertes and Parakeet have been through a vetting process that consists of trying to find the original owner to claim the vessel, followed by a borough auction. No one claimed the vessels.

The Parakeet is already gone. It's an old seiner that Juneau-based Channel Construction accepted at no cost to the borough because it was built of steel, Port Director Steve Miller said. Channel Construction has an operation at the 6 Mile former sawmill site, which is where they took the Parakeet, he said. Channel Construction has been tearing apart former logging camp barges - which were used in the timber days as remote camps - to take to the Lower 48 as scrap.

The Parakeet and those old barges are shredded and piled onto a barge, destined for Seattle. Miller said he isn't sure when the barge will leave.

The rest of the derelict vessels, harbor staff will have to break apart and crush and send out in containers, Miller said. Staff must strip the derelict vessels, and clean them of all oil and contaminants, which will happen this winter, Miller said.

Soon to be added to the list of derelict vessels for disposal are six more: Minerva, Ely's Dream, Ruby T, High Spirits, Baby Doe and a sailboat with no name, just its registration number AK4346f. Those six have mostly gone through the vetting process, Miller said, and no one has claimed them or bid on them at borough auction.

The port and harbors department and Marine Service Center will each contribute $15,000, or $30,000 total, to provide a budget for disposal of the 10 derelict vessels, but "we will probably not get rid of all of them with this amount of money," Miller said.