The Coast Guard, working in coordination with Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and other local, state, and federal partners, will remove the 83-foot motor vessel Jacob Pike, which sank during a winter storm in Harpswell, on January 10, 2024.

The Jacob Pike has been a pollution threat in the New Meadows River since its sinking, the Coast Guard said, in an Aug. 5 news release.

“When the owner and responsible party of the Jacob Pike did not take appropriate action to mitigate the significant threat of pollution from the vessel, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England collaborated with Maine DEP, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Maine Department of Marine Resources, Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry, and the Town of Harpswell, to develop a comprehensive plan to safely and permanently remove the threat posed by the Jacob Pike,” the release said.

The total amount of oil on board is unknown, but it is estimated that the fuel tanks can hold 1,000 gallons.

After the vessel sank, SNNE’s Pollution Response Team observed significant oil sheening around the vessel and issued a Notice of Federal Interest, along with multiple Administrative Orders, directing the RP to take appropriate action to address the pollution. When it was clear the RP was unwilling or unable to take appropriate action, the Coast Guard issued a Notice of Federal Assumption and assumed control of the response.

The Coast Guard hired pollution removal contractors, who placed floating oil boom around the vessel to contain the spread of the sheen, pumped 400 gallons of oily water mixture out of the submerged vessel, and removed 11 marine batteries. However, the risk of diver entanglement in the interior of the vessel prevented additional recovery efforts. The vessel remains surrounded by boom to prevent the spread of pollution.

The Coast Guard used the Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF or “the Fund”) to respond to the discharge. The Fund is a multi-billion-dollar funding source established to pay removal costs and damages resulting from oil spills or substantial threats of oil spills to navigable waters of the United States. The OSLTF is also available to pay third party claims for certain damages. The RP will later be billed for all federal response costs, which include all costs paid from the OSLTF as well as costs incurred by the agencies themselves, such as Coast Guard personnel and equipment.

The Jacob Pike is a wooden fishing vessel built in 1949. The vessel spent most of its service life as a commercial fishing vessel in the Maine sardine fishery. The Jacob Pike is no longer an active commercial fishing vessel, is uninsured, and has expired certificates.

In a 2019 Boothbay Register article, a different future was anticipated for the historic vessel, with the hopes of a rebuild. That was not, however, accomplished and the boat was heavily damaged in the winter storm.

At one point, the Jacob Pike was anchored in Rockport Harbor before the vessel was moved to Harspwell.

According to an article in the Island Journal, the Penobscot Marine Museum bought the boat in 2007 with the intention of rebuilding into a floating museum. Funding for that project, however, was not secured.

In March, the Bangor Daily News reported that the vessel was leaking oil, and its owner was facing charges for abandonment of a watercraft.

The Jacob Pike, built in Thomaston by Newbert & Wallace, is one of a batch of similarly designed wooden sardine carriers built for Moses Bernard Pike of Lubec. He owned the Holmes Packing Company in Eastport. He named the boat for his father Jacob Clark Pike, a sea captain who became a major sardine entrepreneur in Lubec.