Four of Maine's largest abandoned derelict vessels to be removed beginning this fall

MAINE PUBLIC • June 5, 2026

Four of Maine's largest abandoned derelict vessels will be removed starting this fall thanks to a $750,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They include a 95-foot steel car ferry in Roque Bluffs and a WWII Navy minesweeper in Wiscasset. John Noll, director of Maine's Submerged Lands Program, said the DEP and Coast Guard pumped out fuel from the vessels years ago, but the wooden boat hulls soaked with oil continue to pollute the environment. “It improves the habitat they're displacing; you're removing the possibility of painted wood or chemicals that leach out of the boat to continue to leach out. But it also frees up that area for public trust rights...fishing, fowling and navigation," Noll said.