Calls for more action to stop decaying boats damaging the environment
Cornwall Council will today discuss a Plymouth based scheme - as well as another scheme in France
Last updated 22nd Jul 2025
A vote today could see changes to the growing number of abandoned and 'end-of-life' boats in the West Country.
Cornwall Council is considering a motion to 'promote a viable means of recycling' them and to 'encourage manufacturers to use more sustainable materials for new boats'.
Councillors will today also be asked to 'lobby Government to consider introducing tougher legislation to combat the increasing threat of abandoned vessels to our marine environment'.
A report ahead of today's meeting warns: "What happens to boats at the end of their lives? Cars go to the scrapyard and get recycled into new cars. More and more boats find a corner of a creek to rot away, leaking oil, diesel, toxic paints and microplastics into the ocean.
"The majority of abandoned boats were built in the 70’s and 80’s. Boats have got bigger and production volumes have increased along with a significant increase in leisure craft now on the water, so the scale of the problem is only going to grow.
"For example, there are over 4,500 moorings on the Fal Estuary alone. That’s estimated to be over 30,000 tonnes of (mostly) GRP boats which at some point will reach the end of their lives. Dealing with abandoned boats can be complicated and very expensive. Cornwall Harbours has powers under the recent Harbour Revision Order to remove and dispose of abandoned boats and recover the cost from the owner (if they are known and have funds to pay).
"They have safely salvaged and scrapped 74 abandoned vessels since 2015 at a significant cost to Cornwall Harbours, (which although Cornwall Council owned, is self-funded by harbour revenues, not by the Council Tax payer). But, it would be a lot cheaper if we could deal with end of life boats before they get abandoned.
"The longer they are left to decay the more difficult and expensive they are to deal with.
"In Plymouth, the King’s Harbour Master (KHM) has issued a pack of unique numbers to each mooring organisation, with the intention that boats on licensed moorings will all have a unique identifier.
"The ambition is that the KHM/MoD will be able to remove boats without the ID and recover the costs from boat owners where they can be identified. This would be enforced under Port of Plymouth Devonport by-laws.
"France is now tackling the issue with 35 x ‘free to use’ scrappage yards around the coast where more than 11,000 end-of-life boats have been scrapped since 2019.
"France also has a national boat registration scheme. The scrappage scheme is paid for by a producer levy on new boats and an annual boat tax which also funds the French lifeboat service.
"Whilst we are not suggesting the French system is ‘right’ for Britain or Cornwall, it works on the principle that the cost of disposal should be spread over the life of a boat, not left to the last owner who is least likely owner to have the money to pay the cost of disposing of the boat responsibly. They may well have been given the boat or acquired it for a nominal sum as a ‘doer upper’, or been unable to afford the upkeep of the vessel along with mooring fees.
"Free scrappage schemes provide a viable alternative to abandoning a boat. In the UK, it costs around £500 per tonne to scrap a boat once delivered to a licensed yard.
"However, the cost of salvaging then transporting an abandoned boat is considerably more on top of that.
"Ultimately, this is a major and growing issue for Harbourmasters and maritime staff, as well as a major risk to the local ecology and wildlife. Nobody wants pollution like this but we need Government to consider introducing tougher legislation to incentivise responsible boat ownership and combat the increasing threat of abandoned vessels to our marine environment."
At a Wreck Free Fal & Helford event in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall back in February, Jayne Kirkham MP said, “This is a problem which is building into a real environmental issue. I am keen to work with local government, landowners and stakeholders on solutions for Cornwall and champion them at national government level.”
A report ahead of the meeting can be found here