Residents of a South Florida town are fed up after someone abandoned their boat at a dock, leaving a neighborhood smelling foul. WPLG learned Kenneth Wright, the Louisiana-based owner of a damaged 80-foot boat, left the vessel floating in the South New Fork River after he went bankrupt in February.
His sinking, graffiti-riddle boat is not only steadily sinking into the water, but it's also leaking diesel fuel into the river. The nearby Lauderdale Isles community had to deal with the disgusting odor of the derelict boat for nearly three months now.
“The smell is horrendous,” Joann Kratky told reporters. “It’s not only affecting the fish but the plants that grow underwater.”
Howard Rosenberg, the owner of the dock where the boat lies, revealed that Wright stopped paying rent in August.
"Mr. Wright is an attorney up in Louisiana, and why he had this boat here doing nothing, you have to ask him," he told WPLG.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection deployed floating barriers to try and isolate the spill, though residents fear it may not be enough to curb the disaster. Florida Fish and Wildlife has also issued violation notices, as well. No word on what kind of penalties Wright may face if he doesn't do something about the boat.
Reporters reached out to Wright's attorneys for comment, but they haven't responded at the time of publication.