SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - New information on a sardine ship that sank off the coast of Santa Cruz. The salvage efforts have stopped. That boat is sitting at the bottom of the ocean because the insurance company ran out of money.
The boat Stikine sank 2.5 miles off the coast of Santa Cruz in January. It's 86 feet under water. The 58-foot boat carried 50-tons of sardines when it capsized.
Chelsea Wagner of Pacific Marine salvage said attempts to remove the wreck have been unsuccessful.
"I'm a little miffed that they spent four weeks and never got a lift bag on," says Wagner.
Wagner is closely tied to the project. Her dive team helped stop the boat from spilling oil. She said, the owner's insurance company hired a team out of Washington to remove the boat but, they haven't made much progress.
"My divers did an evaluation of what these divers were doing. They learned these divers were inland divers. They have never dove on a wreck in the open ocean," says Wagner. "They also assumed this boat was in 60 feet of water."
She said, the owner's insurance company stopped the project because it was costing too much money. The problem is the boat is in the National Marine Sanctuary and the owner could now face a hefty fine.
"It is against the law to alter the sea floor and that boat is altering the sea floor. The fine is up to $100,000 per day," says Wagner.
She said, it's now in legal limbo between the insurance company and the federal government to figure out what to do. But, if it doesn't get removed, it will become a fishing habitat and a piece of history.
Submitted by Azenith Smith, Central Coast News
