Cancun, Q.R. — More than a dozen abandoned boats have been removed from the Nichupté Lagoon system in the Cancun Hotel Zone. The removed boats are part of an estimated 50 being sought out in a large clean-up effort.
Cancun Mayor Ana Paty Peralta says so far, 14 vessels have been removed during the Abandoned Vessel Removal Campaign in the Nichupté Lagoon system. She says the abandoned boats cause significant environmental due to the chemicals they release into the water.
“As our director of CONANP already said, an abandoned boat affects us here and at sea. It generates a lot of pollution from all the fiberglass and the plastic and also fuel, everything corrosive, metals,” she said.
The lagoon clean-up is part of a historic event to contribute to the recovery, conservation and protection of one of the most important ecosystems in the municipality.
Peralta says the removal of the boats is a concerted effort by the Port Captaincy, the Navy, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), and the Nautical Association.
“Today we are taking action. An operation of this magnitude has never been carried out in our city before and this is thanks to the combined efforts and a great deal of prior coordination work,” Peralta said Wednesday.
“It didn’t happen overnight. They have been organizing for many months, even determining where the maneuvers should take place, etc.,” she said.
Peralta noted that business owners also joined the collaboration with the crane team to help remove the boats near the shores. A total of 14 boats were removed from the lagoon on Wednesday.
She said their goal is to remove 50 boats that have been found left in the lagoon by previous owners.
According to Mayor Peralta, among the upcoming projects are the regulation of other nautical activities such as paddleboarding, the use of kayaks and canoes, as well as an order to the transit of means of transport such as wave runners, yachts, among others, so that the corresponding signage is also provided.
During this first stage, the Quintana Roo Nautical Associates Association supported the lifting and towing of the boats. Once on land, the boats are being placed in storage in a municipal impound lot, and are being transported with help from the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit (SMSCyT).
At the end of August, the City of Cancun began a project to locate abandoned boats inside the Nichupté Lagoon for removal. Vessels located along the shore of the lagoon have been the first to be removed.
