The case of the mystery ghost ship

NEW YORK (WABC) -- It appeared in the morning, off the coast of Brooklyn, about a month ago - a half-submerged battered boat. But when the un-tethered tug boat threatened the row of homes, they phoned in an S.O.S for 7 On Your Side.

"I said where did that come from?" said Yolanda Fazzuoli, a homeowner.

She glanced out her picture window two weeks ago, and saw the boat.

"And there it was and I was really concerned it would damage the bulkhead," Fazzuoli said.

It's an abandoned old boat, bobbing up and down with the tides and banging into her property.

For half a month residents told 7 On Your Side, they've been trying to get the barnacle covered, oil-leaking-eyesore out of there. Fazzuoli says she called her borough president, 911, and 311.

"I made so many calls, so many and nobody knew what to do," Fazzuoli said.

When she caught neighborhoods kids playing on board the untied boat, Yolanda tried to get it towed herself, but she says she was quoted a $10,000 price to tow, which is out of her price range.

"(I was worried) that they would slip or hurt themselves because at one point this boy was inside the boat," Fazzuoli said.

So she called 7 On Your Side. We couldn't find any markings identifying the decrepit craft, so we contacted the U.S. Coast Guard. It came out, investigated that same day, but said it couldn't find the owners and wasn't allowed to tow it. "Anyone who decides to ditch a boat on your property it's your responsibility," Fazzuoli said.

What concerned us most is the uncertainty of Hurricane Joaquin's path and that tugboat floating around un-tethered. So 7 On Your Side spent the last 48 hours contacting more than a half dozen city and federal agency we could think of to help and this is the result.

The New York City's Parks Department came through, safely schlepping the ship down-river, dragging it onto dry land to drain the oil from it and disposal.

"Thank God you did a fantastic job. Thank you Channel 7," Fazzuoli said. "So many other people tried and they failed but you came through."

So the mystery remains, where did this ghost boat come from? Some of the guys who helped tow it believe it was a Navy boat, an admiral's launch used to carry the admiral from the ship to shore. If you've seen it or know what kind of vessel it is, go to Nina Pineda's Facebook page and let her know.