The captain of Captain John’s is ready to go down with his ship.

Councillors on the government management committee gave the order Monday to seize the ship which has been at the centre of a waterfront battle, according to local Councillor Pam McConnell.

City officials maintain John Letnik — the owner of the floating former restaurant at the foot of Yonge St. — owes almost $750,000 in taxes and hasn’t paid his water bill since 2006.

The exact advice to city staff approved by the committee remains confidential and council still has to approve the next steps.

But despite the gathering storm, Letnik says he won’t abandon ship.

“I am not leaving the boat,” Letnik said after the vote.

“They may have to force me. We’re probably going to end up in court with a long battle.”

Letnik wouldn’t rule out chaining himself to the ship if officials try to evict him.

“Why don’t they give me a fair lease?” he asked.

“I’d like to walk off the ship after ... 43 years with dignity not like a dog.”

The restaurant hasn’t served food since June 2012 when the city shut off the water supply.

McConnell said “enough is enough” when it comes to Captain John’s.

“As much as I think we enjoyed Captain John’s at the time in which he was running a great restaurant, that time is over,” she said. “The bills are still remaining and he is not going to be able to get another lease so therefore he has to make a decision, does he go with dignity or do we fight him to the death.”

McConnell admitted the ship is an “icon of the city and well-known” but added it has become “rusted and dead.

“I would recommend to him that he figure out a way to walk off that gangplank and to get on with the rest of his life because Captain John’s is over,” she said.

Former councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski appeared before the committee in defence of Letnik.

“He brought so much to this city and today you are going to kick him in the butt,” Korwin-Kuczynski told the committee.

Mark Richardson, vice president and general counsel for the Toronto Port Authority, confirmed the federal agency has a lien over the ship for berthing fees of more than $200,000.

Richardson said although a number of individuals have come forward with proposals to buy the ship and move it out of Toronto, any sale would need the consent of the owner and all of the creditors — unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Waterfront Toronto says Letnik owes them $140,000 for the use of the land adjacent to his ship.