After owner of abandoned torpedo vessel on Johns Island was arrested, what happens to the ship?

The solicitation for bids closes Aug. 12. The winning contractor will have 90 days from when the bid is awarded to drydock the ship, according to terms of the proposal.

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Stronger abandonment laws see first test

Until recently, there was no dedicated fund for SCDNR to tackle removing or destroying abandoned and derelict vessels.

Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, was the primary sponsor for a bill that enacted stricter penalties for abandoning boats in state waters and created a designated fund for removals. The bill received unanimous support from both the state House and Senate and was signed into law in May by Gov. Henry McMaster.

Previous legislation, which Campsen also helped author, was too weak, the lawmaker said. Definitions of abandoned and derelict were too vague, and the agency had little recourse for charging individuals who left their boats in state waters.

Under the previous law, adopted in 2008, violators could be issued a $5,000 fine or face up to 30 days in jail if they abandoned their boat.

By definition, abandoned boats are vessels with no identifiable owners. The state could deem a boat abandoned, but without the money to do anything about it, the watercraft often stays in the water until it’s claimed by someone else or removed by a good Samaritan.

Owners of derelict vessels, boats that have a known owner but are still in public waters, could be alerted by the agency that their boat was the subject of an abandonment investigation. If they responded within 45 days and assured SCDNR that there were plans to move the boat, then it wouldn’t be considered abandoned.

In Kodaimati’s case, SCDNR officers knew he owned the ship and were in regular contact with him, meaning the ship couldn’t be declared abandoned officially. He wouldn’t relinquish the title to the state, either, agents said previously.