It is certainly good news that a restored Amistad is back on mission, led by a competent board of directors who have committed to a course of fund raising aimed at making the Amistad a self-supporting enterprise.

But while the ship’s sailing out of Mystic last Monday may be the beginning of a new chapter for the Amistad, there is unfinished business that both some politicians and some local media seem to want to sweep under the rug (and let’s not forget that it was just that sort of practiced ignorance that allowed the ship to get into trouble in the first place).

Before we get to that unfinished business, a quick review of the facts: In all, the State of Connecticut — now suffering from chronic budget problems caused by the same negligence and mismanagement of public funds that allowed the Amistad to sail amok — has so far sunk a total of $9 million into the ship. That’s $9 million, while at the same time the state has cut hundreds of jobs, cut funding for local schools and, closer to home, eliminated funding for local tourism promotion, a key pillar of southeastern Connecticut’s economy.

But what is most troubling about the latest media coverage of the ship’s rebirth is that it completely ignores the economic mayhem that the Amistad left in her wake. Those damaged range from local businesses like BM Tees in Taftville (over $10,000 with interest and penalties), to the Debar Marine Service in Groton ($6,268 without accounting for interest or penalties). The former Amistad management even took the Bank of America for nearly $300,000, and it still owes a former employee $32,000.

In other words, the Amistad’s previous “management” spent like, well, drunken sailors with absolutely no intention of ever repaying the various businesses, foundations and festivals that it had signed contracts with as it roamed the seas from Sierra Leone, to Puerto Rico (where it “starred” as an HBO pirate ship), to Maine.

The full tally of that damage? Conservatively $2 million.

That is why I plan to introduce legislation to get creditors paid off, and it is why I have challenged other state legislators to sign on to the bill.

The original idea behind building the Amistad was noble and important. But the ship became a symbol of the sort of chronic mismanagement of public funds that has put Connecticut into the sorry economic situation in which it now finds itself. If the Department of Economic and Community Development had done its job — which was to closely monitor the money being given to the ship and to closely track how that money was being spent — we wouldn’t be in this situation. But we are.

So while some politicians and some media crow about the new launch of the Amistad, the first chapter on the ship is anything but closed. The morally responsible thing to do now is to restore Connecticut government’s credibility with those who trusted that the Connecticut-sponsored and Connecticut-supported ship wasn’t built just to take them for a ride.

Diana Urban is the state representative for the 43rd District, serving Stonington and North Stonington. She is seeking re-election.