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Andrea Jiménez
Marbella
Monday, 4 September 2023, 17:37
Marbella council has finally removed the sailboat on San Pedro beach after it was left stranded there for nearly two months.
The town hall brought in specialist lifting machinery on Friday 1 September to remove the vessel, near the Nuevo Reino beach bar, in a major operation. But the council said the owner of the boat will need to foot the bill, expected to be between 10,000 and 15,000 euros. Town hall official, María Pueblas, also said the sailboat will be scrapped after it was moved to a municipal depot.
The council needed to bring in a heavy-lift crane, as the sailboat weighs more than 15 tonnes. Once out of the water, the vessel's mast was cut down to facilitate the transfer to a vehicle that would take it to the scrapyard.
"We have exhausted all the options in a very complex legal procedure," Pueblas said.
The ordeal started on 15 July, when rescue and lifeguard services informed the town hall that a sailing boat was about to run aground. According to sources, the owner of the boat is a foreign citizen from Wales, who was caught by surprise in an easterly storm. Authorities acted immediately and the relevant steps were taken to tow the boat, but the owner "refused to help". Days later, the boat was stranded in the Nuevo Reino beach bar area.
Pueblas said the captain was given a warning that he had seven days to tow the boat, but the council did not receive a response.
The town hall asked the owner again on 12 August, with a period of three days to resolve the situation, but the owner of the boat claimed he lacked the means to remove it, prompting the council to remove it themselves.
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