A front loader tore violently into abandoned boats while dump trucks cycled through the parking lot of the Jack London Aquatic Center on Thursday, as police began a long-awaited cleanup of the Oakland Estuary.
According to Oakland Police Marine Patrol Officer Kaleo Albino, who was overseeing the operation at Jack London Square, his team hauled at least 12 abandoned or derelict vessels from the thin waterway separating Oakland and Alameda on Thursday morning. The demolished boats were then transported to a landfill.
Although there are still some sunken vessels in the waterway, the city says at least this cleanup effort will stop the other boats from sinking and adding to that number. According to Albino, OPD is pursuing NOAA grants to remove the remaining sunken vessels–a far more costly process.
The state of the estuary, a popular spot for recreational water sports, came under scrutiny in August after dozens of small boats and dinghies were stolen from yacht clubs in Oakland and Alameda during a three-week span – allegedly by “pirates”. The boats were often stripped for parts and sunk, and the broader boating community pointed the blame at a group of “anchor-outs”–a catch-all term for those living rent-free in waterways–in the estuary.
The boating community demanded police stop the crime spree and rid the estuary of anchor-outs. But even before the crime wave, some in the boating community, like former harbormaster Brock DeLappe, had called for a crackdown on derelict or illegally docked vessels.
The process of removing vessels began in November, when OPD began tagging abandoned vessels with a 30-day notice. On Thursday, those boats were towed to shore and demolished.
So far, OPD has only seized abandoned boats. But Albino has warned that, if the anchor-outs don’t leave the estuary within the next few days, their vessels will soon follow.
“I didn’t want to do it around the holidays for the liveaboards, it doesn’t sit right with me,” Albino said of seizing illegally anchored boats. “But we will have to take care of it in the new year.”
Only days remain before Oakland Police say they will start seizing anchor-out boats. But the community of “liveaboards” residing on those boats near Jack London Aquatic Park say they are still unsure where to go.
Sancho Paniagua, who is currently living on a boat with his wife and four-month old child, said he ended up at Jack London Aquatic center a few months ago, after their former home in West Oakland was sold by its owners.
“Baby came, I had to move, I bought a boat, we put everything in storage, and we came straight here,” Paniagua said. “It was that or buy an RV.”
Paniagua is one of approximately 12 anchor-outs still in the estuary. Many of them are living in boats that are not capable of navigating the open water of the Bay. Alameda Police are unlikely to allow the perceived problem to move to their side of the waterway, which leaves the remaining anchor-outs with limited options.
VIDEO: Front loader tears into an abandoned boat.
Amanda Veta-Nguyen, another member of the community, said they have looked for a lawyer to represent them without success. Although Albino had previously said Oakland’s unhoused outreach team would contact anchor-outs and offer alternative housing options, both Veta-Nguyen and Paniagua said that never happened.
Instead, only the local rowing team came by to offer holiday care packages.
“It’s going to be all over again,” Paniagua said, referring to being displaced. “I have an infant. We don’t want to keep doing this.”
