Abandoned since Hurricane Irma in 2017 and linked to a Key West criminal case, the “ghost ship” Cuki, a 45-foot sailboat, continues to deteriorate at Spessard Holland South Beach Park on Melbourne Beach near loggerhead turtle nests.
Boat owner Jeffrey Ray Sundwall, 47, who owns the boat, remains jailed in Key West on serious charges. He next appears in court July 12.
Now stuck until Oct. 31 – the end of the sea turtle nesting season – researchers with the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group can’t wait for the Cuki to go. The biggest threat is that nesting females or hatchlings could crawl onto the boat and become trapped. n
