ROCKLAND, Maine — The private commercial vessel Island Transporter was ferrying a cement truck from Rockland to North Haven on Thursday when high waves caused the truck to shift on the deck of the boat and tip onto its side, leaving the vessel listing.
The U.S. Coast Guard in Rockland reported the vessel succeeded in making the crossing, and no one was injured.
Kyle Willette, a machinist technician with the Coast Guard, said the Rockland station was notified about the incident at about 9:30 a.m. The truck slid or shifted when the Island Transporter was off the Owls Head lighthouse, Willette said, not far from Rockland harbor, but the operator decided to continue traveling to North Haven.
“He picked up a bit of swell,” Willette said, where waves were 7 feet high in the morning but increased to 11 feet by 11 a.m.
“Basically, he limped his way to North Haven over the next two hours,” he said.
The Coast Guard’s 175-foot cutter Abbie Burgess and a 47-foot vessel went to the Fox Island Thoroughfare and stood by as the Island Transporter moored, Willette said.