More than a week after the Newport Princess partly submerged off of the Long Beach coast during a storm, another wave of weather battered the 77-year-old boat even more, sending debris to the shoreline, authorities said.

The 62-foot-long, Mississippi-style paddleboat began sinking for an unknown reason into the Pacific Ocean, a mile off of the coast, during a storm on Dec. 14, authorities said.

On Thursday and Friday, Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, a new storm added damage to the Newport Princess, said Chief Gonzalo Medina of the Long Beach Fire Department’s Marine Safety Division.

Debris from the 77-year-old Newport Princess, once a Newport Harbor fixture, and a second boat wound up on the shore near 5th Place and Ocean Boulevard, Medina said.

As of Monday, Dec. 27, officials were making plans to raise and remove the vessel from the water, but those operations may be delayed by more storm systems anticipated this week, Medina said.

“We’ve been in communication with the owner,” he said. “The owner was not able to cover the cost of the salvage at this time.

“Ultimately, the salvage crew needs to have stable conditions so that their crew can operate safely when they salvage a vessel,” Medina added.

Another vessel, a 35-foot-long power boat, also received extensive damage as a result of the storm, Medina said. Both had been mooring off of island White, one of the THUMS oil platforms.

The city’s Public Works Department was working with a salvage company to remove debris from the beach, though inclement weather continues to be a challenge, Medina said.

Some debris, including chairs, tables, life jackets and various other items had been picked up and placed on a truck by the owner and taken away, said Joy Contreras, spokeswoman for the Public Works Department.

The city was still working out a potential reimbursement path, Contreras said, adding that the projected costs were not yet known and officials were more concerned with deploying personnel to assist with cleanups.

Vessels are allowed to be moored off island White on weekends, Medina said.

The Newport Princess had been moored there for most of 2021, Jack Wall of Al Larson Boat Shop has said.

However, the vessel had not been authorized to be kept there, Contreras said.

The boat served as a venue for weddings and corporate events until the emergence of COVID-19 and was then sold to a new owner. The boat could carry up to 150 people on three decks lined with ornate white guardrails sitting above a black, wooden hull.

What caused the vessel to start sinking was still being investigated by the Marine Safety Bureau and the U.S. Coast Guard, Contreras said.

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