Coast Guard says stranded boat near Bradford Beach poses no threat, should be towed by week's end

U.S. Coast Guard officials say they hope to have the stranded boat stuck near Bradford Beach removed by the end of the week.

The sizeable, multilevel vessel ― a Chris-Craft Roamer ― is visible to drivers and pedestrians traveling north along Lincoln Memorial Drive. It ran aground in the sand just behind the rock wall between MooSa's restaurant and McKinley Marina.

Coast Guard officials say the boat was abandoned Sunday after its owners ran out of gas. No one was injured in the incident. Officials said they didn't immediately move the vessel as no human lives were in danger.

Thursday morning, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Santiago Tamburini told the Journal Sentinel that the Coast Guard is working with a commercial towing and salvage company to remove the boat, hopefully by the end of the week. The boat's owners will be responsible for hiring and paying the towing company. The Coast Guard has determined that the boat doesn't pose a threat of floating away.

"It's what we call 'hard aground,' so it is not going to be moving anywhere anytime soon," Tamburini said. He added that the boat isn't an active pollution threat.

"When there's no active pollution going into a federal waterway, we ... focus on general safety and follow up every day with the owner and the commercial salvage company, just to make sure that there's a plan being worked on," Tamburini said.

There is a plan in place, he said, but it's been delayed by weather.