After a nearly seven-month stay at the bottom of the New Meadows River, near Harpswell, Maine, the 83-foot commercial fishing vessel Jacob Pike at last has been raised and towed away, reports the Harpswell Anchor.  

The former wooden sardine carrier, which was built in 1949, was among the eight to 10 vessels grounded by storms that struck the Maine coast in January.

To float the vessel to the surface on Wednesday (Aug. 7), the US Coast Guard (USCG) attached large, inflated bags. The USCG also hired a contractor to section the area off with big containment booms and absorbent chemicals to mitigate oil pollution, according to the newspaper. Divers recovered 11 marine batteries and pumped 400 gallons of oily water mixture out of the Jacob Pike before safety concerns halted their efforts, according to the USCG.

The vessel has been sent to South Portland, where it will be cleaned to remove all residual oil. It will then be disposed of, although USCG officials said they were not certain of the method for disposal.

Commander Frank Kulesa, the chief of response operations for the USCG Northern New England sector, said the Jacob Pike’s owner, Cyrus Cleary, will be billed for the cleanup operation by the National Pollution Fund Center. He estimated the cost could exceed $300,000.

Cleary, who didn't respond to a request for comment, has also been charged criminally for abandonment of a watercraft, according to the newspaper.

The Jacob Pike launched with some fanfare on April 28, 1949, in Thomaston, Maine, reported the Island Institute in a recent tribute to the vessel. Built by Newbert & Wallace for the Holmes Packing Company, she was the third sardine carrier launched from Midcoast boatyards that year.

Sardines, also known as herring, were big business in Maine in the post-war economy, the article noted. In 1950, there were 46 active canneries employing more than 10,000 people. It was in 1950 that Maine recorded its largest domestic landing of 90,557 metric tons of herring before beginning a steady decline.