JONESPORT, Maine — A fire Thursday morning destroyed a lobster boat tied to a mooring ball off Hopkins Point, according to the Coast Guard.
The blaze was reported at 6:12 a.m. by the boat’s owner, who was on shore when he called to report it, the Coast Guard indicated in a prepared statement. Photos taken by Coast Guard personnel show that the boat, the 32-foot Bigger Dirls, burned nearly all the way down to the water’s surface.
The Coast Guard launched a 29-foot response boat with crew and used a dewatering pump to help put out the flames. Jonesport Fire Department assisted in dousing the fire, the Coast Guard indicated.
After the blaze was extinguished, another fisherman towed the smoking hull to shore at nearby Hopkins Point Marina, according to the statement. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Attempts to contact local fire officials on Thursday were unsuccessful. The town’s harbormaster, Russell Batson, said the owner just had a new engine put in on the boat and that the fire is not believed to be suspicious.
