Mount Pleasant, SC - The town of Mount Pleasant has awarded a bid to a local contractor for the removal of six sunken boats and a large pile of marine debris that had been dumped near Crab Bank, a protected rookery.

The bid came under budget, so the town added one more boat for removal.

The Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management’s grant of a little more than $37,000 was matched in part by town contributions of more than $12,300.

Cape Romain Contractors, the local company awarded the job, will begin work in Shem Creek during the first week of May. The work will be completed in May.

The company is known for successfully removing the shrimping trawler “Hope” from Shem Creek in 2004 and for their work with boat removal after Hurricane Hugo.

“We are grateful for OCRM’s participation in our sunken boats removal program and our efforts to improve our water quality, to protect marine and avian wildlife, and to preserve our waterways from the danger posed by sunken vessels to recreational or commercial boaters,” said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry M. Hallman Jr.

Many of these vessels are only visible at low tide.

Oil, gas and sewage must be removed from the boats before they can be pulled out to prevent additional pollution of these areas.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department will be seeking information about the owners of sunken boats to try to recoup the cost of removal.

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