A 330-ton fishing vessel carried hundreds of meters inland by the March 11, 2011, tsunami will probably be dismantled instead of preserved as a memorial to the tragedy, the city of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, said Monday.

According to Kesennuma Mayor Shigeru Sugawara, Katsuyuki Yanai, president of Gisuke Fishery, owner of the Kyotoku Maru No. 18, said Sunday that it will be taken apart in April.

Although Sugawara requested that the decision be put on hold for another six months to consult residents and weigh the cost of preserving the vessel, Yanai said leaving the Kyotoku Maru where it sits high and dry on a pier would "be a shackle to rebuilding the city."

Some insisted leaving the ship where it is would be the best reminder of the need for disaster-preparedness, but the owner refused to comply, Sugawara said.