Three abandoned sailboats were removed from the waters by Sheepshead Bay Pier in an initiative spearheaded by Councilwoman Inna Vernikov.  

The $55,000 endeavor removed the vessels from the Brooklyn shoreline on Friday morning. This comes after years of complaints from local residents regarding the environmental concerns and aesthetics of the ships.  

“Unfortunately, when these hazards present themselves, they pose ecological challenges to our habitats underwater,” said Nate Grove, chief of Waterfront and Marine Operations. “They can become navigation hazards to other boaters, so with your support, we're able to be out here and remove these items." 

Nowadays, vessels are made from fiberglass, which can degrade over time and become hazardous, leaking chemicals, oils, and gases into the water.  

The process to extract these boats is not easy – it requires water jets, float bags, and a full team of work boats and water pumps to remove it. Divers also enter the water to patch up any holes in the bottoms of the vessels in order to reduce any pollutants or toxic chemicals from entering the environment while the vessels are transported. 

To complete the process, the vessels will journey on to a controlled environment where they will be broken down and brought for waste transfer.