Jyväskylä orders 20-metre pleasure vessel moved from beach

Jyväskylä is demanding that a 20-metre pleasure vessel be moved from the old beach at Muuratsalo, Yle reports. The vessel has been lying beside the beach since last spring and has prompted complaints throughout the summer.

Its 81-year-old owner, Esa Niemitalo, says he has an old boat harbour right to keep the vessel there and does not intend to move it.

“I am not going to do anything. My boat is now at the vessel’s engineer’s berth,” Niemitalo told Yle.

Niemitalo disputes the city’s ownership of the shore. He refers to Finnish constitutional provisions on the rights of passage and landing from 1914, and says the city took only administrative control of the shore rather than buying it.

Jyväskylä rejects that interpretation. Petteri Ahonen, the city’s head of environmental protection, says the land belongs to the city and that the owner has no right to keep the vessel on the Muuratsalo shore.

“It is a massive vessel. If everyone brought boats that size to the berths, it would be quite crowded,” Ahonen said.

Ahonen said the Muuratsalo area has many old boat harbour rights, jetties and other arrangements for which documents cannot always be found.

City threatens fine or towing

The city’s construction and environmental committee discussed the matter last Tuesday and decided to order the vessel to be moved elsewhere. The order is being delivered to Niemitalo.

Residents have complained that the vessel obstructs recreational use of the beach, spoils the view and could cause environmental damage. The vessel is no longer connected to the mainland. Its lines have been removed and it has been anchored more securely in place.

If it is not moved within 30 days, the city will use enforcement measures. It may impose a conditional fine or have the vessel towed away and charge the costs to the owner.

“If towing has to be bought from an outside provider, it is not going to be cheap,” Ahonen said.

According to Ahonen, the vessel could also cause environmental harm even though it currently contains no fuel. He said there is likely to be oil in its engine, vandalism could cause glass fragments to enter the water, and old toxic bottom paint could gradually wear off into the lake.

The city has not yet decided which enforcement measure it will use if the vessel is not moved on time.

Niemitalo said he would not back down and would take the matter to court if necessary. He is currently renovating the vessel, including its interior and electrical systems.

The pleasure vessel is for sale, but Niemitalo does not believe it will be sold before the renovation is finished.