Utah Man’s Cruise Ship, Bought on Craigslist, Now Sinking After He Spent Over $1 Million Restoring It

Mar. 15, 2025

View of the ‘Aurora’.Photo:United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

A man from Utah spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he bought on Craiglist that has begun sinking.

Technology entrepreneur Chris Willson revealed in an interview withCNN Travelthat he and his long-term partner, Jin Li,spent 15 yearsrestoring theAurora— a 293-foot vessel — after purchasing it online in 2008. The ship also features 85 cabins, a swimming pool and a theater.

While Willson didn’t disclose the original cost of the vessel, he said in the interview published on Wednesday, Sept. 18, that he was able to “work out a really good deal with the owner.”

View of the ‘Aurora’.CDFW Spill Prevention/Response

CDFW Spill Prevention/Response

He told CNN Travel thatAuroraspent a year docked at Rio Vista, Calif., around three years at San Francisco’s Pier 38, and was docked at Herman & Helen’s Marina, around 24 kilometers from Stockton, Calif., in 2012.

“I’d gotten quite a ways. I think we had 10 areas solidly restored and refurnished meticulously,” he said about his work on the vessel. He ended up selling the boat in October 2023 after locals took issue with the dormant ship, reports CNN Travel.

“These were kind of major areas. So we were pretty proud of that. So we were doing a pretty good job. We had marine engineers involved,” continued Willson. “(There was) no lack of people coming out to loan a hand.”

View of the ‘Aurora’.x

x

While the identity of the individual who brought theAurorahas not been publicly shared, the U.S. Coast Guardannounced on Wednesday, May 22, that it had begun to “sink in 13 feet of water and discharge pollution.”

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“It has been determined the ship has suffered a hole and is taking on water and is currently leaking diesel fuel and oil into the Delta Waterway,” added the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in apost on X.

Workers in front of the ‘Aurora’.United States Coast Guard

“Extensive surveys suggest that no recoverable oil remains onboard. There were no observations of oiled wildlife throughout the response,” the U.S. Coast Guard’s press release said, noting that the City of Stockton had “hired contractors to maintain pumps within the vessel to address potential water ingress and monitor the vessel.”

The city’s community relations officer, Connie Cochran, told CNN Travel that when theAurorasank, it had “no clear ownership.”

In an interview with PEOPLE, she added that the city is working with a contractor who has done a condition assessment of the vessel to determine if it is “structurally sound enough to withstand a dead ship tow to a place where it could be salvaged” since it is a “public hazard.”

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In a recent post on aFacebookgroup page chronicling the restoration of the Aurora, Willson said that the “new owner has consistently reached out to every pertinent agency, fervently proclaiming his ownership status, and has provided unequivocal legal documentation confirming his ownership.”

source: people.com