Guam among priority areas for NOAA's submerged wreckage removal program
- Admin
- Aug 6
- 3 min read
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Salvage crews will be mobilized in Guam later this year to retrieve abandoned and derelict vessels left to disintegrate in the waters.
Guam is among the eight U.S. jurisdictions prioritized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under a four-year marine debris removal program, which involves a significant investment in removing more than 300 abandoned and derelict vessels from their local waters.
For Guam, the grant is awarded to the Port Authority of Guam, according to
BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, which is in charge of the program.
“This is the first coordinated (abandoned and derelict vessels) removal effort across the country and across time zones to address the issue head-on,” said Alanna Keating, foundation director of outreach.
While Guam has a Litter Control Revolving Fund and has a Park Improvement Fund, NOAA noted that Guam does not have a dedicated funding source for removing and disposing of abandoned or derelict vessels.
Under Guam's public nuisance and littering laws, the responsible party is liable for the costs associated with the removal of the litter.
In a case study posted on its website, NOAA found that Guam does not have a lead agency in charge of abandoned and derelict vessels within the territory.
"The Department of Parks and Recreation administers the laws that apply to Guam’s park lands and marinas, and the Department of Public Health and Social Services is responsible for administering the laws relating to public nuisances and littering," NOAA states.
In 2021, the Navy removed submerged wreckage from the Guam Harbor of Refuge in response to the local government's request. Environment officials noted that the underwater wreckage threatened the island's marine ecosystem.
During a diving exercise in 2017, salvage divers from Western Pacific Naval Symposium nations and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas removed two submerged sailboats from the waters of Apra Harbor, which had been sitting rotting for two decades, and an underwater wreckage of an automobile from the seas around Merizo Pier.
This week, the BoatUS Foundation announced NOAA's four-year grant to fund debris removal and education efforts in communities heavily impacted by underwater wreckage that poses pollution hazards.
The foundation has been awarded a $10 million grant to administer the program, which includes national competitive grants for the Great Lakes, freely associated states and U.S. territories.
"There’s never been an effort before at this scale, and we’re proud of making it happen for the boating public and affected communities,” Keating said.
Other project areas include:
Metlakatla Indian Community, Alaska
City & Borough of Yakutat, Alaska
Sitka Conservation Society, Alaska
Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Louisiana
Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation, Washington
State of Maine
U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources
North Carolina Coastal Federation
Oregon Department of State Lands
The boat foundation said the projects were selected by a panel of independent salvage experts, state boating advocates, nonprofit research organization and planning agency staff.
"Work on the abandoned vessels' removal projects is expected to mobilize salvage crews across each of the announced grant areas later this year as local environmental reviews are completed," the foundation said. "Both recreational and commercial vessels are targeted for removal."
The removal effort also includes the creation of a national database to pinpoint locations of derelict vessels and track their removal.
According to NOAA's website, the marine debris program employs advanced satellite technology to track and monitor marine debris across vast ocean expanses.
"These systems use a combination of optical and radar satellites to identify large debris fields, track movement patterns, and predict debris accumulation zones," NOAA states. "High-resolution imagery from satellites like Landsat and Sentinel-2 enables researchers to detect and monitor larger pieces of marine debris, particularly in remote areas that are difficult to access through traditional survey methods."
The program also utilizes specialized algorithms that analyze spectral signatures to distinguish debris from natural ocean features.
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