Derelict vessels — Sebastian, Florida

A derelict boat in the lagoon off Sebastian or in the St. Sebastian River is reported to Indian River County's online Derelict Vessel Reporting Form, and boating violations can also go to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.

Two agencies share the job. The Lagoon Division of Indian River County works closely with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) law enforcement to monitor at-risk and derelict vessels in the Indian River Lagoon and St. Sebastian River, and it handles the removals of derelict vessels when authorized by FWC (Indian River County Lagoon Division). The county page's Report a derelict vessel link opens that same online Derelict Vessel Reporting Form.

FWC's Wildlife Alert program, created to encourage citizens to report fish, wildlife and boating violations, lists the hotline at 888-404-FWCC (888-404-3922) or #FWC from a cell phone, along with an online tip form (FWC Wildlife Alert). The state definition also reaches a boat docked, grounded or beached on another person's property without consent, and FWC or another law enforcement agency investigates derelict vessels under section 823.11 of the Florida Statutes (Indian River County).

Removal follows a fixed sequence that the county prints step by step. An investigation by a law enforcement officer can take months or even years; a reasonable effort is made to locate and notify the owner; a notice of derelict status (sticker) is placed upon the vessel; and once the investigation is complete, the FWC officer issues a letter of authorization to remove the vessel, which then goes to FWC headquarters in Tallahassee for final approval (Indian River County). Only after that approval does the Indian River County Lagoon Division remove a hull from Sebastian waters.

Under section 823.11, a boat in Sebastian waters is derelict when it is wrecked, junked or substantially dismantled, or left at a port or on private property without consent.

The statute spells out each word. A vessel is wrecked if it is sunken or sinking, aground without the ability to extricate itself absent mechanical assistance, or remaining after a marine casualty such as extreme weather or a fire; it is substantially dismantled if at least two of the three following vessel systems are missing or broken: the steering system, the propulsion system, or the exterior hull integrity (Florida Statutes, s. 823.11). Bolting an outboard onto a junked hull does not change its status if the motor is not an effective means of propulsion, and the definition applies on any waters of the state, including the lagoon off Sebastian.

The at-risk category exists to catch a boat before it sinks. FWC says periodic vessel inspections by law enforcement coupled with at-risk vessel citations and warnings encourage owners to bring a vessel into compliance before it becomes derelict, and that a vessel is declared a public nuisance and may be removed as if it were derelict when the owner has been cited three times within a 24-month period (FWC). Because at-risk vessels are still afloat, FWC notes they are less expensive to remove than derelict vessels. Those state rules reach boats in the St. Sebastian River as in other Florida waters.

An owner in Sebastian who cannot keep a boat afloat has a no-cost exit. After at least one written at-risk warning or citation, the FWC Vessel Turn-In Program (VTIP) removes and destroys unwanted, at-risk vessels at no cost to the vessel owner, and the costs of removing, destroying and disposing eligible VTIP vessels are 100% funded by this program, awarded first come, first served (FWC). The Indian River County page points owners to the same program (Indian River County).

Local governments can add enforcement. Section 327.4107 allows a county or municipality to authorize by ordinance a code enforcement officer to administer the at-risk and public nuisance vessel rules, though such an ordinance may not take effect until FWC reviews and approves it (Florida Statutes, s. 327.4107). No such Sebastian ordinance appears in the county or FWC sources checked for this page.

No anchoring limitation area for Sebastian waters appears in the county record: the ordinance Indian River County noticed for an August 19, 2025 hearing would establish anchoring limitation areas only in the City of Vero Beach and the Town of Indian River Shores.

The county record is narrow. The Indian River County public hearing notice describes an ordinance amending Chapter 932 of the county land development regulations to establish anchoring limitation areas in the City of Vero Beach and the Town of Indian River Shores in accordance with Florida Statute 327.4108, set for Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 9:05 a.m. (Indian River County notice). WQCS described the same proposal in July 2025 as limited to those two municipalities (WQCS). Sebastian is not named in either document.

The county's own anchoring page describes the program as work done with the cities and towns. It says the Lagoon Division of Indian River County is working with local municipalities to establish anchoring limitation areas within the county, and that if passed or approved, the areas must be clearly marked with signs and buoys, with all work done in accordance with sections 327.40 and 327.41 of the Florida Statutes (Indian River County ALA page).

Where an ALA does exist, the rules are strict. The county states that an anchoring limitation area allows anchoring of a vessel for no more than 45 consecutive days in a 6-month period, that citations may be issued, that failure to comply may lead to impoundment for 48 hours, and that a vessel may be declared derelict or a public nuisance after more than three violations in 12 months (Indian River County ALA page). State law caps each county ALA at less than 100 acres, bars marinas and mooring fields, and holds a county's total to 10 percent of its navigable-in-fact waterways (Florida Statutes, s. 327.4108). Those county limits attach to the noticed Vero Beach and Indian River Shores areas, while the statewide derelict vessel rules apply on any waters of the state, including off Sebastian.

Indian River County's lagoon page lists 2 derelict vessels removed from the Lagoon in Winter 2026 among its Lagoon Division highlights.

The same county page lists that removal next to two other pieces of lagoon work: adoption of the Lagoon Management Plan on September 26, 2023 and launching a pump out vessel program in 2026 (Indian River County). Indian River County sits in the central portion of the lagoon with the Sebastian Inlet to the north and the Fort Pierce Inlet to the south, and the county page gives the removal figure for the county as a whole rather than for Sebastian waters.

The bill for a boat hauled from Sebastian waters follows the owner. Under section 823.11, a person who neglects or refuses to pay such costs may not be issued a certificate of registration for such vessel or for any other vessel or motor vehicle until the costs have been paid, and an owner who has been sent written notice via certified mail that removal, storage, destruction or disposal costs are owed and who then applies for and is issued a registration before paying in full commits a misdemeanor of the first degree (Florida Statutes, s. 823.11). FWC adds that because at-risk vessels are still afloat, they are less expensive to remove than derelict vessels (FWC).

The damage a wreck does is the reason for the spending. Indian River County lists navigational hazards, debris, pollutants such as oil, fuel and paint, damage to oyster reefs, shoreline plants and submerged aquatic vegetation, and entanglement risk for marine organisms as impacts of derelict vessels on the lagoon off Sebastian (Indian River County).

A Sebastian property owner whose shoreline holds a derelict boat without consent may remove it at the vessel owner's expense 60 days after meeting the notice requirements in section 328.17(5), under section 823.11(5) of the Florida Statutes.

The statute sets limits on both sides. When a derelict vessel is docked, grounded, or beached upon private property without the consent of the owner of the property, the owner of the property may remove the vessel at the vessel owner's expense 60 days after compliance with the notice requirements, but the private property owner may not hinder reasonable efforts by the vessel owner or the vessel owner's agent to remove the vessel; notice is presumed delivered when it is deposited with the United States Postal Service, certified, and properly addressed with prepaid postage (Florida Statutes, s. 823.11). Before a vessel can be declared derelict, the law enforcement officer must follow due process as outlined in section 705.103(2), Indian River County notes (Indian River County).

Penalties for a Sebastian boat owner climb with repeat offenses. For a first offense, a vessel owner who violates section 823.11 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree; for a second offense, a felony of the third degree; and for a third or subsequent offense, a felony of the second degree, and a conviction does not bar the assessment and collection of a civil penalty (Florida Statutes, s. 823.11). The same section says a person may not reside or dwell on a vessel determined to be derelict by disposition of a court or administrative order, or where the vessel owner does not challenge the derelict determination.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River County website.