Cleanup in Gulf continues for wrecked shrimp trawler

The beaches are clean, but the hull of a shrimp trawler that wrecked two miles off Anna Maria Island remains on the seabed.

The crew of the Warrior, owned by the Tampa-based Versaggi Shrimp Corp., required rescue from the U.S. Coast Guard the night of Jan. 8 after the vessel began flooding.

Nobody was hurt, but flotsam from the broken-up vessel was littered across island beaches.

With help from Manatee County, public works crews from the island municipalities removed much of the washed-up debris Jan. 9.

Arthur “Art” Whiting from Tampa-based Harden Marine Associates, Versaggi’s insurance adjuster, told The Islander Jan. 14 that the cleanup wasn’t finished. A portion of the hull — including up to three gas tanks capable of holding thousands of gallons of diesel — remained intact in 14 feet of water.

Whiting hired Tarpon Springs-based Florida Dredge and Dock and Palmetto-based DiveCom Marine to inspect the wreckage, remove the gas tanks and salvage any remaining valuable parts from the hull.