Fate of roaming boat remains uncertain

The abandoned fiberglass catamaran that meandered around the Atchafalaya River last week in Morgan City and Berwick finally hit the railroad bridge in Berwick Bay Saturday, but uncertainty remains as to what will be done with the boat.
Originally, after the boat hit the bridge, towing and salvage company Smith Maritime planned to remove the boat, but decided against it, General Manager Donnie Matusiak said this morning.
Matusiak said company officials decided not to move the boat due to pending federal lawsuits involving the boat. Smith Maritime is based out of Florida but has an office in Amelia, he said.
On Thursday, Leonard Price said the 120-by-45-foot fiberglass catamaran broke free Feb. 16 from where it had been resting for seven years in the Atchafalaya River.
Smith Maritime had planned to take the boat to Lad Companies, which was going to eventually dispose of the boat, Matusiak said.
However, Lad Companies Owner Lee Dragna said he would not touch the boat unless the Coast Guard deemed it a hazard to navigation.
On Friday, the boat moved from Berwick to Conrad Industries in Morgan City, said Coast Guard Capt. David McClellan, commanding officer of the Morgan City Marine Safety Unit.
On Saturday, the vessel drifted down the river to the railroad bridge, McClellan said. Initially, a davit on the boat was hanging across the railroad track impeding railroad traffic, but then the bridge tender secured the davit arm, McClellan said. At that point, railroad traffic was able to pass, he said.
McClellan said Smith Maritime workers inspected the boat Sunday and planned to move the boat. Based on video footage McClellan has seen from the Coast Guard’s cameras on the railroad bridge, the vessel appears to have moved from place to place on its own with the wind or current, he said. When the boat traveled back and forth between Morgan City and Berwick last week, McClellan believes the wind probably propelled the boat, he said.
The current then likely pushed the boat south toward the railroad bridge, McClellan said. When the vessel hit the bridge, hardly any wind and a small amount of current caused the boat to have “no real impact anywhere,” McClellan said. Coast Guard officials found no evidence to show that anyone tried to move the boat, he said.
Last week, Price said the boat belonged to George Moench, who now lives in Ecuador. Moench abandoned the boat about seven years ago on private property, which Price now owns, at the north end of Front Street in Morgan City on the Atchafalaya River, Price said.
Ken Wiggins, who is Moench’s stepson, said he worked to help fix the boat for about five years until Moench broke his leg, Wiggins said. The boat had been on the Morgan City side of the river for nine or 10 years tied up to his family property, Wiggins said.
The boat continued to stay tied up with six or seven lines, Wiggins said. Lines eventually started disappearing, Wiggins said. About six weeks ago, three lines were still left on the boat, and when he checked two weeks ago, another line was missing, Wiggins said.
Recently, Wiggins found the bow rope was untied from a piling and tied to a big chunk of Styrofoam that was attached to the boat, Wiggins said.
“It just happened the next few days, we get that strong, southerly wind, and the boat broke loose,” Wiggins said.
The boat had sat on the property next to Price’s property on Front Street for about eight months without a rope on it, Wiggins said.
Wiggins believes someone had been sabotaging the boat, he said. About five months ago, Wiggins discovered holes cut in the sides of the boat, he said. “It was purposely sabotaged to try to sink the boat, and the boat’s unsinkable. You can’t possibly sink it because it’s built out of this stuff called close-celled foam,” Wiggins said.
Last week, McClellan said he didn’t “have very much jurisdiction” to do anything with the boat, he said. As of Thursday the boat was out of the waterway and not a hazard to navigation with no pollution reported on the vessel, McClellan said. McClellan said he was told the vessel is about 60 feet long.

This story is by Zachary Fitzgerald of the Daily Review staff. He can be reached at zfitzgerald@daily-review.com.