By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
The state Department of Natural Resources made its first arrest under a recent law intended to help rid the state’s waterways of abandoned boats.
Samuel Kodaimati, 64, was arrested Tuesday, July 22, on suspicion of leaving a decommissioned 120-foot U.S. Navy torpedo vessel in Bohicket Creek near Johns Island, the natural resources agency said in a news release. If convicted, Kodaimati could be ordered to pay up to $43,400 in fines and fees involved with removing the boat, according to the agency.
The boat that DNR officials linked to Kodaimati has been sitting in a marsh near a private dock since at least 2021, when the Coast Guard issued an order deeming it inoperable under federal maritime law for lacking proper documentation, according to the news release.
Leaving the vessel in the salt marsh ecosystem posed a threat for the fish, shellfish and shorebirds that live in the marsh, as well as the quality of the water that filters through it. The Coast Guard deemed the boat an environmental hazard last year and removed about 3,500 gallons of oil and oily water from it, according to the news release.
“This arrest underscores our commitment to protecting South Carolina’s natural resources and holding accountable those who jeopardize them,” agency director Tom Mullikin said in a news release. “Abandoning vessels in sensitive waterways not only violates the law but also puts our ecosystems, wildlife, and communities at risk.”
No one answered phone numbers possibly connected to Kodaimati. It is unclear whether he has hired an attorney to represent him.
Abandoning boats for any reason other than an emergency has been a misdemeanor since 2008, but that law didn’t stop people from leaving their boats in the state’s waterways. The law passed unanimously in May creates a specific process for DNR and other law enforcement agencies to remove boats left in public waters and increases the penalties for those convicted.
Once law enforcement officers have been notified of a boat left in a waterway for 10 days, if it has no identification — or 21 days if it does — they must try to contact the owner and put a notice on the boat deeming it abandoned. The owner then has three weeks to move the vessel or submit a reasonable plan to do so. Otherwise, officials can remove and dispose of the boat, as well as charge its owner with a misdemeanor, according to the law.
The boat’s owner, if convicted, can be fined up to $10,000, put in prison for up to 60 days, or both.
That’s double the previous maximum fine of $5,000 or prison sentence of 30 days. The law also stipulates the owner is responsible for paying any costs that come from removing the boat, taking the onus off the state to cover expensive removals.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
