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Taking a chance on a 1950s German vehicle listed on Craigslist can be tempting, but there’s typically a lot of work involved in getting them running reliably. When the vehicle in question is a cruise ship, and not a Mercedes-Benz or a Porsche, the task is exponentially more difficult. California resident Chris Willson found this out the hard way after buying the Aurora, a rusted-out vessel built in 1955. The City of Stockton is now looking for a way to move a sunken 2,800-ton ship to a salvage yard.
The Aurora, originally named the Wappen von Hamburg, was built by the shipbuilders Blohm & Voss in Hamburg in 1955. The North Sea cruise ship’s construction alone was a milestone as it was the first significant ship built in postwar West Germany. The ship first changed hands in 1960 when it was purchased by the Greek operator Nomikos Line and renamed the Delos. The liner was used as a filming location in the 1963 James Bond film “From Russia With Love.”
When Willson saw the vessel listed on Craigslist in 2008, the ship was well past its prime. He wouldn’t disclose how much he paid for the Aurora but estimated that he spent over $1 million during his restoration efforts. Willson told CNN:
“I’d gotten quite a ways,” he says. “I think we had 10 areas solidly restored and refurnished meticulously. 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. (There was) no lack of people coming out to loan a hand.”
Willson moored the Aurora on the California Delta in 2012, roughly 15 miles away from Stockton, California. He documented the restoration on a YouTube channel with his ultimate goal was to open the refurbished ship as a museum. However, the ship began sinking in May 2024. The Aurora was also leaking diesel fuel and oil into the surrounding waterway, according to San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
After the ship’s sinking, Willson claims he no longer owns the Aurora. The City of Stockton was forced to get involving paying for the ship’s refloating and the cleanup of 21,675 gallons of oily water and 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste. The city is now looking for ways to dispose of the ship and recoup the costs. Now, the taxpayer is stuck covering the costs of an over-ambitious project.
