Maritime workers were left stumped when a 50-foot shrimp boat washed ashore on aFlorida beach without anyone on board.
The boat, named Miss Montie, appeared on Beverly Beach along Florida's East Coast between Jacksonville and Orlando on Sunday evening.
When the Flagler Beach Fire Department responded to the empty boat, they discovered it was empty.
The department posted on social media that when they searched the vessel, they came up with 'no findings.'
However, the maritime mystery was later unraveled to reveal a decision by the Coast Guard, and not a paranormal captain.
The boat's owner Captain Corey Thomas says he was forced to abandon the vessel when it had lost power on Friday night and he struggled to pull in the anchor.
Another boat had attempted to come to Thomas' rescue, but after unsuccessful tries, he was forced to call the Coast Guard for help.
'The Coast Guard come and told me they couldn't tow me nowhere,' Thomas revealed to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.'And I couldn't understand why they couldn't tow me. They told me it was too dangerous.'
A massive fishing boat called Miss Montie was the center of an eerie maritime mystery over the weekend when it drifted ashore with no one on board
The Flagler Fire Department responded to the 'ghost ship' abandoned on a Florida beach and found that no one was inside
Thomas, his dog Lucy, and another crew member were forced to flee the boat.
A spokesperson for the Coast Guard confirmed to the Daytona Beach News-Journal that they helped safely transport Thomas' crew to a marina with no reported injuries.
Once on shore, Thomas found another boat captain who was willing to go back out to sea with him and tow his boat back.
However, they discovered that Miss Montie had drifted eight miles in three hours and was in a rough territory.
The second boat attempted to tow Miss Montie back to shore but the six foot waves made it increasingly difficult.
Thomas tried to anchor the boat but the line broke and he was forced to once again abandon Miss Montie.
Luckily, the boat eventually was pushed back to shore without sustaining any significant damage to the hull, but onlookers were shocked by the mysterious scene as it rocked aimlessly like an abandoned ghost ship.
A spokesperson for the Coast Guard confirmed that since the vessel had made it to shore upright, they weren't afraid of it falling apart or becoming a danger to beachgoers.
They added that recovering the shrimp boat is now up to Thomas, but they will continue to monitor for threats of pollution.
As the boat waited to be towed off the beach, onlookers flocked to see Miss Montie and take photos with the empty vessel.
Authorities later discovered that the Coast Guard rescued the ship's captain and crew after their power went out and their anchor line broke
Captain Corey Thomas said he attempted to bring the ship back to shore, but the combination of having no power and no working anchor line made it impossible to tow
Florida resident Jeff Olkowski told the News-Journal that he drove up to see the boat with his family.
'It is pretty wild to see it out on the beach. It's not something that you see every day,' he said.
Mackenzie Kohlbeck, a resident of St. Augustine, said that she had to come and photograph the boat after a friend told her what happened.
'I grew up in the Jacksonville area, big shrimping area, so I've always loved shrimp boats, but they're hard to get pictures of when they are all the way out in the water,' Kohlbeck told the outlet.
Jaime Burdick added,'I've never seen a boat this large stranded before so it's kind of surreal to see but glad everybody's OK.'
The ordeal did, however, cause a headache for Captain Thomas, who has started a GoFundMeto pay for the $11,000 it will take to repair the boat's anchor line, and remove it from the beach.
The ship eventually washed ashore safely, and everyone on board was rescued by the Coast Guard. Even though there was no 'ghost captain,' onlookers still flocked to photograph the lone ship
The description said that Thomas was a fourth-generation local shrimper and was struggling to keep his business afloat as restaurants have begun sourcing from shrimp farms instead of local operations.
'There is nothing like fresh shrimp and Captain Corey desperately wants to keep providing fresh shrimp to your table,' the GoFundMe pleaded.
'Please help Captain Corey with your financial support to remove his shrimper, make necessary repairs, purchase a new anchor, and help him support his efforts in a local industry that his great-grandfather began in the 1880’s,' the description added.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Coast Guard for comment but didn't immediately hear back.
