ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 13, 2024
An 83-foot motor boat that was one of the first refrigerated sardine carriers during the heyday of Maine’s sardine industry is going to be scrapped after a recovery operation to retrieve the sunken vessel. The Jacob Pike fell victim to a storm last winter. The 21-year-old great-great-grandson of the vessel’s namesake wants the historic wooden vessel to be preserved and formed a nonprofit that would use it as an educational platform. But the U.S. Coast Guard doesn’t have the authority to transfer ownership of the vessel. And any new owner could become responsible for repaying up to $300,000 for environmental remediation.