Perth Voice Interactive

A STRANDED ferry on Point Walter’s sand bar has been graffitied, with locals wondering when and how it will be removed. 

Local resident Tim Johnson has been keeping an eye on the vessel since it grounded on March 8.

Mr Johnson said officials down on the bar told him the vessel “busted off its moorings at Blackwall Reach and had drifted down onto the sandbar.”

He says locals are concerned the vessel is firmly stuck in place and will be difficult to remove.

“It looks like it is really rammed up there, I wonder when and how they are going to get it off,’” Mr Johnson said. 

On his daily walk on Wednesday, Mr Johnson was shocked to find the vessel covered in fresh graffiti.

“It’s pretty amazing; [they] put a lot of effort into it, by the looks of it,” Mr Johnson said. 

The Department of Transport says it is “aware of the grounded vessel” and has “attended on site to assess it.”

The DoT said officers issued a notice to the owner to remove the vessel. 

“[I]f the owner fails to do so, the DoT will remove the vessel from the water and seek to recover from the vessel’s owner any costs incurred.”

The DoT said the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation and the DoT’s Maritime Environmental Emergency Reponses are “also aware and monitoring this situation.”

by ELOISE BUDIMLICH