Fishing vessel left to rot in Cornwall harbour at centre of debate

The Karina Olsen has been left to rot in Penzance harbour

A fishing boat that has used a Cornish harbour for more than 20 years and been left to rot was at the centre of a debate around abandoned vessels.

Cornwall Council said it was seeking to remove "live-aboard" vessel Karina Olsen from Penzance Harbour.

It said the vessel was among a number of abandoned boats which need to be sold or demolished in Cornish ports.

Maritime manager Chris Jones disputed one councillor's claim they were "powerless" to pursue boat owners.

Councillor Peter Channon had said: "When's it all going to end? Owners are escaping from this because we're not pursuing them."

Mr Jones disagreed: "We are pursuing heavily the owner of the vessel and we're taking legal advice."

'Valuable berth space'

But the meeting heard council removing or scrapping of large boats can cost up to £70,000, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Karina Olsen was among a number of boats discussed at a meeting of Cornwall Harbours Board.

Attendees heard the vessel was sold by its original owner on the condition it be removed from the harbour within three months as it was "taking up valuable berth space".

But the boat was resold without agreement with Penzance harbour master, the meeting heard, while the new owner "was not communicating with authorities".

Four years out of service, the boat had "rotten planks and the presence of destructive gribble worm", the meeting heard, and posed "a risk to harbour safety".

A council report said the harbour master had made "continuous attempts" - including six emails - to make contact with the owner "to no avail".

The council had to "commence the process to take possession of the vessel".

The owner, who the councils said owed the harbour £3,800, failed to meet a 8 December deadline to make contact, it added.

In order to reduce the risk of the boat sinking, Cornwall Harbours Board has the powers to sell, remove or scrap it, which can cost up to £70,000.

Mr Jones said there were two other boats in Cornish harbours that would be costly to dispose of, including an ex-fishing boat in Penryn which had been there "for many, many years".

He said there were smaller boats that would cost between £1,500 and £2,000 to remove.

Mr Jones said lobbying continued for a registration scheme but that owners would ultimately have to pay for disposal.

He added: "These are all legacy issues; they're not boats that have arrived on our watch.

"We are now really strict with any boat that comes in. If it highlights as a risk to us we're making the harbours not so welcoming to such vessels.

"We're also enforcing our by-laws, terms and conditions, and mooring licences."