Boaters say sunken barge is a death trap
By Gina Tomlinson
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CAPE CORAL, Florida (WBBH) — Cape Coral boaters don’t think enough is being done to warn others about a massive sunken hazard protruding out of the water in a busy stretch of the Caloosahatchee River.
The sunken barge, barely marked by a single orange buoy, is sitting outside the channel off Jaycee Park. With no lights, no signs and no slow zone, some fear it’s just a matter of time before a boater slams into it at full speed.
“It’s a huge problem,” said Capt. Darrell Gregorio, a longtime charter captain in Cape Coral. “Worst case scenario, somebody is going to drive across it and get launched out of their boat.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirms the structure is a capsized barge that went down last week near Jaycee Park. Two people were on board at the time, but the FWC says they made it out safely. The commission says it worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to contain leaking fuel and mark the barge.
But boaters say the small orange buoy that has been placed near the wreck as a warning isn’t enough.
“Someone’s going to hit it eventually. It’s only a matter of time,” said Scott Dyson, who boats in the area about every week.
On Tuesday, the tide was low enough to see the barge jetting out from the water, but some are worried about being able to spot the conglomerate at high tide or after dark.
“We get a lot of traffic, people boating at night and coming to see the sunset and maybe trying to come home through here, and that’s — it’s a huge hazard,” said Gregorio.
Boaters are calling for more visible warnings, like lighting, signs or additional buoys, to prevent a crash. Right now, the FWC says it is working with the barge’s owner to remove it, but it couldn’t provide a timeline for when that would happen.
In the meantime, it’s unclear if any additional markers or lighting will be added to warn boaters of the hazard.
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