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Hazard or eyesore? Maine's shipwreck protocol

When a ship goes down on Maine's waterways, who gets stuck with the salvage? You asked, we have the answers.

WISCASSET (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- "It happened before the blizzard actually hit."

Wiscasset Police Chief Jeffrey Lange says a World War II minesweeper moored off the coast went down just a few days into the new year.

"We have a couple boats down there that remain all year long, and this one just happened to go down."

All you can see now, is the mast sticking out of the water. It remains unclear what caused the boat to sink.

There is a protocol to follow when a ship sinks in Maine's waterways.

According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, it depends on the situation. Director of Communications, Jeff Nichols, says there could be a number of agencies involved. "Department of Environmental Protection would be involved in the event of a spill," says Nichols. "Coast Guard could also be involved if there’s a navigation issue."

In this case, Wiscasset Police called in the Maine DEP; then the case was taken over by the Coast Guard.

"The Coast Guard has deemed that it is not a threat," said Chief Lange.

That means it's the owner's responsibility to get the boat out of the water. Chief Lange says the owner is in the process of finding salvage companies to assist with that. The process could cost thousands of dollars.

The sunken vessel in Wiscasset isn't the only wreck dotting Maine's waterways. A boat has sat in the Penobscot River near Hampden for nearly seven years.

Some residents complain it's an eyesore, but town officials say they have no plans to remove it.

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