Plans to bring the World War II tugboat ST 479 Tiger back to where it was built in DeLand have run aground, and so has the ship.

After a trip across the Atlantic Ocean followed by a long journey down the St. Johns River from Jacksonville, the tugboat was parked on Astor’s Lake County shore. While the boat was supposed to come to Ed Stone Park west of DeLand Jan. 15, the water level on the St. Johns River is too low for the boat to sail. 

“… it will probably take either fairly expensive help like another tugboat, or the river rising naturally in the fall to move her,” DeLand Historic Trust President Dan Friend explained in an email. “The river just dropped a bit too much over the past few weeks. 

For now, all events surrounding the boat’s move have been canceled, but Friend still plans to relocate the boat to Volusia County later this year when the St. Johns River’s water level rises.