Kuopio weighs auctions for more than 100 abandoned boats

Kuopio is considering auctioning some of the more than 100 abandoned boats stored for years in Kumpusaari, a fenced storage area, while disposing of those that cannot be repaired, Yle reports.

The boats have been collected from the city’s shores and mooring places after owners failed to pay fees or remove them. The storage area contains motorboats, sailing boats and wooden and fibreglass rowing boats, some still fitted with engines.

Port manager Sami Lehtonen estimates that about half of the boats can already be classified as waste. Several dozen boats are brought to Kumpusaari each year, and some have remained there for years.

Owners have two weeks to collect their boats

Under Kuopio’s rules, the city attaches a notice to a boat left in a city mooring place without a paid fee. If the owner does not pay or move the boat within two weeks, the city can take it into storage.

In cases that appear to be simple oversights, the city may move a boat nearby so that the owner can retrieve it. If no owner comes forward, the boat is transferred to Kumpusaari.

Boats are abandoned for various reasons. Lehtonen said a common situation arises when an owner dies and the boat is left to the estate. The mooring fee may go unpaid, or the estate may have no way to transport the boat away. Some boats may also have been stolen.

“It is impossible to find out who owns the boats and where they came from, so unfortunately they eventually end up here,” Lehtonen said.

Fibreglass boats are difficult to dispose of

Most of the abandoned boats are made of fibreglass, which makes disposal difficult. “It does not disappear simply by burning. It is environmental waste,” Lehtonen said.

The auctioning of boats is governed by Finland’s Lost Property Act. A boat taken into custody or found must be stored for three months. After that, ownership of unclaimed property passes to the finder or the authorities.

Kuopio’s chief legal counsel Lari Tiikasalo said the priority has been ensuring that abandoned boats do not pose a danger in harbour areas or near waterways. He said there has therefore been no urgent need to remove them.

“Of course, further action is needed, because it is not appropriate to keep abandoned boats as a burden on the city,” Tiikasalo said.

The city will assess each boat individually to determine which could be auctioned and which are waste. The port office will prepare the auction, with a solution expected after the boating season.

According to Finland’s Ministry of the Environment, an estimated 10,000 fibreglass boats are taken out of use in Finland each year. At most a few thousand of the boats that qualify as waste are collected from shores, harbours and islands.