Coast Guard Leads Removal of Abandoned Fishing Boat off Maine

The U.S. Coast Guard is leading an operation to raise and remove a sunken fishing vessel from the harbor in Harpswell, Maine, in order to fix an ongoing source of pollution. 

The 1949-built sardine boat Jacob Pike went down in January after a series of winter storms battered the Maine coast. The wreck has been leaking fuel into the marine environment, and the Coast Guard estimates that it could contain up to 1,000 gallons of diesel. 

Coast Guard Sector Northern New England attempted to get the owner to take action to clean up the wreck, but found that the individual "was unwilling or unable." In order to address the hazard to the environment, the Coast Guard federalized the response and tapped the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to pay for the cost of cleanup. It hired a pollution response contractor, who boomed off the vessel and pumped off 400 gallons of oily water mixture; however, the work stopped short of completion because sending a diver inside the tight confines of the vessel would be too risky. To get at the last potential sources of pollution, the wreck will have to be refloated. 

The owner, identified as Cyrus Cleary, has been summoned by the town authorities on the charge of abandoning a watercraft. If found responsible, he could be fined up to 150 percent of the cost of removal. Separately, the administrators of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund will pursue recoupment of all federal costs after the wreck removal is complete.

Jacob Pike was an 83-foot wooden fishing vessel built for the sardine trade. Later in life, it worked in the lobster fishery. It ceased commercial operations in 2022, and like many defunct vessels, it changed hands several times in succession. Cleary, the current owner, told the Bangor Daily News that he disagrees with the Coast Guard over the removal method and does not believe he should be responsible for the full cost, which will be in the low six figures. 

Operations to remove the vessel are under way. The plan is to set rigging, raise the Pike to the surface, and prepare it for a tow to its next destination. The Coast Guard has determined that the owner is not in a position to take possession of it, so it will be removed to South Portland for safe disposal.