The planned removal of the dilapidated ship that housed Captain John’s floating restaurant has been put on hold while the new owner awaits court approval.
The M.V. Jadran was sold by a federal court for $33,501 on July 31 under the condition that it be towed from its long-time slip at the foot of Yonge Street by Aug 22.
Entrepreneur James Sbrolla was unable to finalize arrangements to have the ship removed by the deadline, however, and made alternate plans to stage the move today.
“The court order that was issued on July 31 needs to be revised and without a change in the order- nothing can happen,” Sbrolla told CP24 on Friday. “We have no control over the court and are waiting patiently for a date, not sure if it will be next week or not.”
The Jadran has been vacant since the city shut off its water over more than $500,000 in unpaid taxes back in 2012.
The boat’s former owner Ivan “John” Letnik had previously challenged the legitimacy of the unpaid debt, saying that the city had no right to charge him property taxes on a boat that was in the water and therefore not on City of Toronto land.
Once the ship is finally removed, it will be stripped of salvageable parts and the scrap metal will be sold.
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