- A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he purchased on Craigslist is speaking out about the vessel being demolished
- “It’s probably one of the saddest things that I’ve had to witness in this lifetime…” Chris Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023, told CNN Travel
- Willson and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora — a 293-foot vessel — after purchasing it online in 2008, PEOPLE previously reported
A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he bought on Craigslist before it started sinking is speaking out about the sad moment the vessel was demolished.
As previously reported by PEOPLE, technology entrepreneur Chris Willson revealed in a September 2024 interview with CNN Travel that he and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora — a 293-foot vessel — after purchasing it online in 2008.
The ship — which was originally named the Wappen von Hamburg and inspired The Love Boat — was built by Germany after World War II. It featured 85 cabins, a swimming pool, and a theater and was featured in the 1963 film From Russia with Love.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced in May of last year that the boat had begun to “sink in 13 feet of water and discharge pollution” in Little Potato Slough near Stockton.
United States Coast Guard
In December, USCG’s Northern California X account confirmed a “dead ship tow” had been conducted and the vessel had been taken to nearby Mare Island. Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran has since told CNN that the vessel “is no more.”
Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023 after locals took issue with the dormant ship, told CNN Travel that seeing it demolished was, “probably one of the saddest things that I’ve had to witness in this lifetime.” He added, “It’s hard to watch 15 years of hard work just go to complete waste.”
Cochran told the outlet in an email, “It was towed to Mare Island, and as of April 9, 2025, the destruction of the Aurora was complete except for the final disposal of a few key pieces and material.”
Willson told CNN of his decision to sell the vessel nearly two years ago, “Was I willing to go down with the ship? I mean, I would have worked on that ship my entire life.”
“But once they threw a wrench in the works, that kind of ended it for me. I decided, no more,” he added, per the publication, insisting he was grateful to have been able to keep it on the water for so long.
“I kept it safe for 15 years, and then I couldn’t see any hope for me working on the project anymore. So I passed it on to someone else,” Willson, who wanted to turn the ship into a museum, told CNN.
“If I would have known it would have [gone] in this direction, I would have stuck it out,” he admitted to the outlet. “But, I think it would have been sticking it out to my detriment.”
Maritime historian and cruise writer, Peter Knego, told CNN last month of witnessing the ship’s end, “They’re demolishing it with these cranes that go in and just grind up the steel,” calling it the “safest” method.
“It’s a really mean-looking, horrible death for the ship,” he added to the outlet.
USCG Northern California
In a June 2024 statement shared on Instagram, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response said that contractors had “removed an estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris” from the ship.
“It really hurts that I couldn’t jump back in there and save it,” Willson told CNN while discussing the ship eventually meeting its end. However, he said he had no regrets and “wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.”
Willson, who previously documented the Aurora’s “restoration project” on Instagram and YouTube, added to the outlet that there, “were so many almosts with that ship.”
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“We almost had the right people involved in order to save that ship for many, many more generations, but things fell through and we just kept waiting for the next one to happen,” he said.
He claimed the buyer who purchased the ship from him “seemed just as passionate about saving” the vessel as he was, per the outlet.
While Willson didn’t disclose the original cost of the vessel, he said in his previous CNN interview published in September that he was able to “work out a really good deal with the owner.”
Willson and Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
Credit: dotdashmeredith.com
