The dilapidated ship that once held Toronto's iconic restaurant Captain John's has been towed from the harbour in its final voyage to a port on Lake Erie.
The rusted relic, which was sold to the Marine Recycling Corporation earlier this month, was slowly towed from a dock at the foot of Yonge Street at 10:30 a.m. It will be pulled to Port Colborne, Ont. before being dismantled. Most of the metal will be recycled.
The former passenger ship, named the MS Jadran, has been moored in the harbour since 1975. It was once a popular tourist attraction, open every day of the year for almost 40 years. Diners included comedian Bob Hope, former prime minister Brian Mulroney and former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman.
The ship fell on hard times in 2002, when its owner, "Captain" John Letnik, filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2008, Toronto Public Health officials insisted the restaurant be closed down after citing 11 infractions.
Since the restaurant closed, the abandoned ship has been floating along the waterfront as Letnik searched for a new buyer. On May 11, the MS Jadran was finally sold.
Crews began dismantling the derelict vessel last week to prepare for the trip.
Tug boats arrived in the Toronto harbour at 9 a.m. The move began 10:30, when crews released the ship from its current position. It was turned 90 degrees in the inner harbour, then towed out through the Eastern Gap between Wards Island and the western edge of the Port Lands.
It was brought to the Marine Recycling Corporation yard at approximately 6 a.m. on Friday.
