YOKOHAMA - Local authorities on Wednesday started removing a sightseeing ship left abandoned for eight years at a port near Tokyo, as the vessel remains tiled and partly submerged, government officials said.
The city government of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture had earlier ordered the operator and owner to remove the ship, which resembles a pirate vessel.
But the owner told the city government that it could not afford to dispose of the ship, which is 24.7 meters long and has a gross tonnage of 171 tons.
The city will charge the operator, Finnsalemarine Co., and the owner for the cost totaling about 33 million yen ($206,000).
According to the city, the ship, believed to have operated in Tokyo Bay, had been left at the port since October 2018. It was initially put up for sale.
Strong winds tilted the vessel in February 2025, and it also began leaking oil, the city said.
