BoatUS launches first national database to track abandoned boats and derelict vessels across US
by BoatUS 6 Nov 2025 07:35 PST
Abandoned Derelict Vessels © BoatUS Foundation
The non-profit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has developed a database that will identify the locations of abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) across the U.S., freely associated states and U.S. territories and track their removal.
Created in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, this national database will allow visitors to report abandoned and derelict vessels on their coastlines, allowing the issue to be better understood on a national scale with the support of the public. Eventually, this database will be able to track the impacts of removal and prevention efforts by showing how the number of ADVs across the country may one day decrease.
Abandoned and derelict vessels can crush or smother sensitive plants and corals, leach fuel and other pollutants into the water, threaten safe navigation, and contribute to economic losses. Removing ADVs is a costly effort, often averaging more than $24,000 to remove a single boat.
"When we finally understand the scope of the problem, communities all over the country will be better able to remove abandoned and derelict vessels on their local coastlines," said BoatUS Foundation Director of Outreach Alanna Keating. "With the information the database provides, they will be able to know exactly where they need to dedicate resources, whether that be towards removing vessels or preventing them from becoming abandoned in the first place. This database is just one part of our critical work that could help make ADVs a thing of the past."
Along with the database, the BoatUS Foundation awarded grants this year to support ADV removal efforts across Alaska, Guam, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington.
The database, regional removal grants, and efforts to raise awareness on boating-related debris disposal—including the Second annual "Turning the Tide" conference in New Orleans in December 2026—are supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.