An abandoned, graffiti-covered boat illegally moored at a public pier in Ballard for seven years has been taken into state custody and may finally be hauled away by the end of the year.
Following years of complaints culminating in a city of Seattle lawsuit, a King County Superior Court judge in June declared the 112-foot-long boat, known as the Albert, a public nuisance. The court ordered Fred Kelly Jr., a Colorado resident, to remove the boat by the end of July, after which the city was authorized to remove it at the owner’s expense.
When Kelly did not meet that deadline, the city asked the state Department of Natural Resources to take over, which it did Thursday. City spokesperson Mariam Ali said that the DNR has more experience than the city with removing vessels, and would be able to move more quickly to hire a contractor…