ANNA MARIA – The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three mariners from a 70-foot commercial fishing vessel that took on water and ran aground Friday evening in rough seas two miles west of Anna Maria Island.
The fishermen are “OK,” according to boat owner Joe Versaggi, of Tampa-based Versaggi Shrimp Corp. But pieces of the Warrior, along with some fuel, continued to wash up on Anna Maria Island’s beaches this afternoon, floating south past Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach and reaching Longboat Key.
While the Coast Guard reported earlier today that the hull of the vessel appeared intact, some of the 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel was reported leaking.
“The United States Coast Guard informed me this evening that after their last flyover, the vessel’s fuel tank appears to still be secure. It is their opinion that the fuel we have on our beach is possibly from remnants from the vessel’s bilge,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said. A salvage boat is expected to reach the site on Sunday morning between 8-10 a.m. to remove the hull, engine and fuel tanks, he said.
Cortez commercial fisherman Mike Fannon cleaned up some boat debris washing into the Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria this morning, after seeing the Warrior in the Gulf of Mexico off Anna Maria Island on Friday and noting that “it was too close to the reef,” Capt. Kathe Fannon said. Debris was washing up on Beer Can Island (Greer Island) at the north end of Longboat Key around 2 p.m. today, she added.
Fuel and oil from the accident could impact bird populations on the Island, including terns and laughing gulls, said Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox.
It’s too early for shorebirds to begin nesting, and sea turtle nesting season is over until May 1, but some local sea turtles could be affected, as could the seagrass they feed in, she said.
According to the Coast Guard press release, “A Coast Guard Station Cortez 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crew arrived at 7:50 p.m. to the 70-foot commercial fishing vessel Warrior, took the three crew members off the vessel and transferred them to a dock in Cortez with no medical concerns.”
According to the press release, “Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received a call on VHF-Channel 16 from the Warrior operator reporting they had 2 feet of water on board and pumps were unable to keep up with the flooding. A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater also responded. The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the vessel for possible pollution.”
The Coast Guard press release includes a few seconds of video footage that shows the Coast Guard vessel approaching the Warrior in distress.
Debris field and cleanup efforts
The abandoned Warrior later broke apart and much of the ship’s debris washed ashore along the northern tip of Anna Maria Island at Bean Point.
This morning, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy and Public Works Manager Dean Jones investigated the debris field and initiated the city’s cleanup response.
“It’s a shrimp boat out of Tampa, owned by the Versaggi Shrimp Corporation out of Tampa,” Murphy said, adding the shrimp company’s insurer will be asked to pay for the cleanup efforts.
“They’re going to have to pay for it. I’ve informed the Coast Guard and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). We started taking the debris out. We got a hold of the county and the county’s bringing in reinforcements to help us pull up the debris. I couldn’t allow that debris to sit there. There’s about a mile-and-a-half to 2 miles of debris on the beach. There’s timbers, rusty nails and bolts and more. It’s a public safety hazard,” Murphy said.
“The beach isn’t closed, but we’d like people to stay away because it’s dangerous with all the debris and diesel fuel. The diesel fuel spill starts at Bean Point and ends at Cypress. The debris field starts at Bean Point and goes all the way down to the entrance to the city at White Avenue,” Murphy said.
Murphy said the Coast Guard and DEP are monitoring the fuel spill.
“FDEP is on board for the fuel spill and they’re supposed to get back to me with their advice. We’ve got two big containers that we’re putting at the end of Magnolia Avenue to collect the debris we’re picking up on the beach,” Murphy said.
When contacted at approximately 1 p.m. this afternoon, Joe Versaggi confirmed the Warrior was part of the Versaggi Shrimp Corporation’s Tampa-based fishing fleet.
“It was our boat. We’re trying to get a dive crew and a salvage crew out there now,” Versaggi said.
When asked about the Warrior’s crew, Versaggi said, “They’re all OK.”
Versaggi said he spoke to Murphy about the cleanup efforts.
“I told him to call the insurance adjuster,” Versaggi said.
When contacted a few minutes later, Murphy said, “I talked to their insurance adjuster and they’re going to compensate us for all our work. That is not a problem. I am saving the debris for Mr. Versaggi because he wants to inspect it.”
When contacted earlier this morning, Jones commented on the debris field and the pending cleanup efforts.
“It’s bad. It basically broke apart from what we can tell. There’s fuel up on Bean Point. You can smell diesel fuel. There’s all these green bags out there on the beach. There’s wood everywhere with nails in it. There’s baskets, cartons and other debris. We called everyone from Public Works to be here as quickly as possible.”
– Reporter Cindy Lane contributed to this report
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