Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Every year motor yachts either sink, or catch fire and burn off the coast of Florida. Even though virtually none of the diesel fuel aboard the boats is ever cleaned up, the Coast Guard still seeks clean up costs from the owners of these boats under the Oil Pollution Act of 90. The costs are not small either. Clean up costs can easily run over $50,000 even when the amount of diesel fuel on the boat is only a few hundred gallons. While some may say that the cost is justified to clean up that amount of diesel fuel, the fact is that in few cases is any fuel actually cleaned up.

Further, the Coast Guard seems to exercise little restraint in contracting for and paying for clean up. If the fuel has already escaped, or the boat has already burned, the urgency of removing the wreck is usually not great. Nevertheless, the Coast Guard will pay salvors double and even triple time to remove the wreck, expecting to pass the bill along to the owner, or his insurer.