After more than two decades, the boat that once cruised Warrnambool's Hopkins River has been removed from its moorings. The Spirit of Warrnambool was placed on the back of a truck on Monday, December 4, 2023, after the city council asked the owner to have it taken away. The boat began offering cruises up the river more than 20 years ago and was used for functions but in recent years has had little use. A Warrnambool City Council spokesperson said it had written to the owner of the Spirit of Warrnambool in September 2021 after the lease to moor the boat at the public dock expired. "After further correspondence, earlier this year, council raised the possibility of the boat being moved given it had ceased operating and no further lease had been sought," he said. Then in September this year, the council wrote to the owner seeking to have the boat removed. "The owner indicated the boat would be removed in order to be sold and this would take two months," he said. The spokesman said council had set a timeframe up to November 3 for this to occur, and to assist the owner the date was extended to November 20 and again to December 4.