Ballard 'graffiti ship' removal could cost over $600K

It's been the source of lawsuits and serious safety concerns, but what will become of Ballard's graffiti ship and how much will it cost the state of Washington to dispose of it? FOX 13's Lauren Donovan takes a look at the derelict ship and the potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars it's going to cost to get rid of it. Just look at this thing. I feel like you need a tetanus shot just to get aboard it. It's been sitting here the past six years, collecting graffiti and a whole lot of grime. It's become a photo op, a tourist attraction here at the public dock on 24th Avenue Northwest, gaining notoriety most recently on social media, shared hundreds of times. Ballard's favorite graffiti boat. Somebody was posting that it was going to be gone, like the city was going to get rid of it. So I wanted to check it out before it was no longer available to check out. Dubbed the graffiti ship, its real name is the Albert. The Albert does attract a lot of folks to go on board this vessel, and it's only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt. And let's be clear, it is no anomaly. It's constant. I mean, you could go out with me on a boat, and we can go in any cove, any little isolated part of the water, and you'll discover a derelict or abandoned vessel out there. In fact, this long list from the Department of Natural Resources shows a staggering 358 vessels of concern that have yet to be removed from Washington waterways. Jerry Farmer, with the DNR's Derelict Vessel Removal Program, says his work, it feels like a revolving door. Last year, we removed around 419 vessels. So we think, wow, all right, that cleared our database, and then some. How many boats can be out there like that? But the number never changed. It was still around 300 vessels still active in our case files. And disposing of these isn't cheap. The ballpark figure for a vessel of this size and its disposition is around 600 to 800,000. The owner will get that bill, but based on past experiences, Jerry says the likelihood of them actually paying it is slim. See that day right there, October 22nd, Thursday. That is when the Department of Natural Resources plans to take this thing over for good. We're reporting in Ballard, Lauren Donovan, Fox 13 News. Well, just because the DNR is seizing control of the vessel does not mean it's going to be gone the same day. According to the DNR, removal would more likely come toward the end of November.