Abandoned and sunken boats

What each party can do

Until abandonment is declared, the vessel still belongs to its owner¹. That is why a marina or a municipality does not cut it up on its own: they ask the port captaincy to order the removal or declare the vessel abandoned.

Why they pollute

An abandoned boat corrodes, breaks apart and releases what it carries. Its effects on the coast include oil pollution, marine debris and wildlife entrapment, and they grow as the hull breaks into smaller pieces⁵.

• Fuel and oils. Whatever is left in tanks, engines and bilges reaches the water as the hull corrodes. In large wrecks, most of the oil still on board will eventually be released⁶.
• Heavy metals. In Cancún's Nichupté lagoon, boats sinking slowly release heavy metals and oils and put Morelet's crocodile, the manatee and waterbirds at risk, according to an October 2025 report⁷.
• Antifouling paint. Tributyltin (TBT) in hull paints deforms oysters, changes the sex of whelks and persists in the water until it enters the food chain. An IMO convention in force since 2008 requires it to be prohibited or restricted⁸.
• Batteries and other waste. Lead batteries, used oils and polychlorinated biphenyls are hazardous waste under Mexican law⁹.
• Seabed damage. The hull scours, shades and crushes corals and seagrass, and it is a hazard to navigation⁵.

How many there are

• 8,569wrecks worldwide at risk of leaking oil; 1,583 are tankers ⁶
• 2.5 to 20.4 Mtof oil may remain in those wrecks, between the low and the high estimate ⁶
• Over 75%of those wrecks date from World War II ⁶

That 2005 count only includes ships of 400 gross tonnage or more, and tankers from 150⁶. Launches, yachts and small fishing boats are not in it. In Mexico, the press has documented these cases:

• 2025 and 2026

  Nichupté lagoon, Cancún

  In October 2025 more than 80 abandoned boats were reported in the lagoon, most of them fibreglass⁷. In September 2026 the municipality, the port captaincy, the protected areas commission (CONANP) and local boat operators began removing 14 of the 45 to 50 abandoned, half sunken or stranded boats, in three stages through December³.

• 2021 and 2025

  Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche

  In 2021, 26 vessels of Oceanografía, a bankrupt company, sat at the docks of the Isla del Carmen port; the environmental authority had ordered them out of the Laguna de Términos protected area, and that year only two ships had left Campeche's ports¹⁰. In November 2025 local groups asked for the removal of vessels stranded on beaches and at the mouth of the Zacatal that are eroding the coast and affecting turtle nesting areas¹¹.

• 2008

  Both coasts

  A document cited by Expansión counted 300 abandoned or laid up vessels on Mexico's two coasts that needed to be dismantled¹².

Who is liable under Mexican law

The Navigation and Maritime Commerce Law places the obligation on the owner or operator¹:

• Removal order. If a vessel adrift, sunk or aground is a danger to navigation, fishing or other maritime activities, or to the environment, the Navy Ministry orders the owner to mark, remove, repair, scuttle or clean it up at their own cost. The owner has three months; otherwise the Ministry can remove or sink it at the owner's expense¹.
• Six months without an order. If there is no danger, the owner has six months from the casualty to remove it¹.
• It is still yours. Until abandonment is declared, the owner of the wrecked vessel remains its owner¹.
• Declaration of abandonment. The captaincy issues it if the vessel spends 10 working days in port with no operations, no crew and no request for temporary lay up (30 outside port), if the lay up expires without the vessel returning to service, or if it ran aground or sank and no salvage was carried out within the deadline¹.
• If no one complies. The vessel becomes property of the Nation and the Ministry can remove and sell it; if the sale does not cover the costs, the owner pays the difference¹. If there is a risk of pollution, the captaincy can order it scrapped at the expense of those responsible¹³.
• Fine. Failing to mark, remove or extract within the set deadline is fined 10,000 to 50,000 times the Unit of Measure and Update (UMA)¹.
• Insurance. Every vessel sailing in Mexican waters must carry protection and indemnity insurance for civil liability¹. Ask your insurer what it covers in a removal.

How a vessel is removed

1. 01

   Assessment

   Photos, location, measurements, condition (afloat, aground or sunk) and documents. If it is sunk, the depth and access.

2. 02

   Plan

   How it will be raised, where it goes and how long it takes, with a written offer.

3. 03

   Permits

   Extraction, removal or refloating is authorised by the port captaincy under procedure SEMAR-05-022: it requires a guarantee or insurance policy, the destination of the removal and a commitment not to use explosives, and the authorisation is valid for six months². For 2026 the fee is MXN 7,710.30¹⁴.

4. 04

   Salvage or refloating

   The vessel is marked, secured and refloated or lifted with platforms, cranes or bilge pumps, on the terms set by the harbour master¹.

5. 05

   Preparation

   Fuel, oils, batteries and waste are removed before cutting. A hull sunk as an artificial reef is prepared the same way: before the former ship Onjuku was sunk off Tamaulipas in May 2026, oils, plastics and toxic materials were removed under the supervision of the Navy and SEMARNAT¹⁵.

6. 06

   Dismantling

   It is cut in sections on land, at a boatyard or afloat, with a scrapping authorisation. See ship recycling.

7. 07

   Recycling

   Steel, non ferrous metals and equipment are separated; every load is weighed and leaves with a Carta Porte and a CFDI.

What is recovered

The metal from a removed vessel is paid for, and the offer depends on the vessel. This is what it usually contains:

How to report a boat or request a removal

• If you found a vessel adrift, sunk or aground, notify the port captaincy right away with a statement of what you saw. The law requires anyone who finds a derelict to report it¹. The location, date, condition and photos help.
• If it is polluting, you can file a complaint with PROFEPA or, if there is no office where you are, with the municipality⁴.
• If you are an owner, a marina, a port administration or a municipality and want it removed, send us the location, photos, measurements and what you know about the owner and the procedures. Write to us or use the button on this page.