At a Glance

The ship is the last of three Columbus ship replicas that were gifted to the city of Corpus Christi. The La Nina also sank after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.The city has said it doesn't have the funds to maintain it.

A replica of Christopher Columbus' sailing ship La Nina sank in Corpus Christi Bay - again.

The ship sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Caller Times newspaper.

The 75-foot-long, 20-foot-wide ship also sank three days after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, when its pump quit working because of a power outage. The ship had been repaired and returned to the water after the Harvey damage, but was still undergoing restoration work.

Weather wasn't a factor this time. Instead, a of the hull may have given away and let water in, Gina Sanchez, director of the marina where the ship is moored, told KIII TV.

The La Nina is the last replica of three that were gifted to Corpus Christi by the Spain-USA Foundation in 2006, according to the Caller Times.

Two of the ships were deemed to be unusable and were destroyed, the newspaper reported.

The Corpus Christi Sailing Association has maintained the La Nina for about 10 years, and collected $20,000 in donations to repair it after it sank in 2017.

Besides being a tourist attraction, association president Kim Mrazek told the Caller Times that sailing lessons were taught on the ship for several years.

Mrazek says plans are in the works to transfer the La Nina to a new owner, hopefully by the end of the year.

"We're staying very positive - everything is going to come out just fine," she said. "I believe in this little ship ... She is going to survive another 50 years or so."