Court orders Florida man to remove shipping container boat from lagoon

March 22 (UPI) -- A federal court on Friday ordered a Florida man to remove his home-made floating structure from a local South Florida lagoon.

A lawsuit from 2021 alleged Fane Lozman violated the Rivers and Harbors Act by placing a structure made from modified shipping container and floating docks into navigable waters without authorization, which is a violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act.

"Unlawful structures can pose increased risks of harm to others, as in this case. We're committed to enforcing the law," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Lozman allegedly moved the structure to different areas in Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County. The docks became unmoored on several occasions, and one dock split away from the structure.

On one occasion, the dock holding the shipping container -- which Lozman had modified to include furnishings such as windows, doors, stairs and a rooftop deck -- floated across the lagoon and beached at a public park.

Since litigation began, Lozman has removed several pieces of his structure from the lagoon, but two floating docks and the modified shipping container remained, according to prosecutors.

Lozman has been in court before over a similar violation. The City of Riviera Beach in 2009 confiscated Lozman's floating fortress from a marina on the grounds that it was illegally docked.

A federal court issued a summary judgement ruling the structure was legally a boat. The city then bought it at auction for less than a third of its value and destroyed it.