Abandoned boat removed from Naples City Dock after nearly 2 years

After 22 months of sitting idle and rusting at the Naples City Dock, an abandoned boat is finally being towed away.

Rusted, dirty, and completely abandoned, the mid-sized vessel deteriorating on the southwest corner became a familiar sight at the Naples dock. City officials say it has been submerged since September of 2023.

"It's a 40-foot cruiser boat that's been sitting for quite a while. You can kinda tell by all the algae," said Captain Nelson Bass of Tow Boat U.S. Naples and Marco Island.

Captain Bass and his team spent several hours pulling the boat from the water.

"Looks like it's been here for about a year and a half due to the growth. And quite a few holes and barnacles and a lot of sharp edges. But looks good. Looks like we're about ready to start pumping and raising her," he explained.

The city confirmed the boat was licensed to a local auto dealer - Imports Unlimited of Naples Inc.

Fox 4's Mahmoud Bennett contacted the company and they said they had signed off the boat to the state of Florida after Hurricane Ian.

Regardless, Captain Bass said his role is to ensure it gets removed safely. A lot of the boat had deteriorated from being in the water so long.

"You can see we have it actively boomed off. That is just to keep all the environmental contaminants inside the boomed-off area so it does not get into the water. Keep it nice and clean here in Naples, Florida."

The city says the vessel will be towed away and stored at a city owned property.