A $5,000 reward is being offered for a missing drone boat in the Gulf of Maine.
The drone boat went missing about 30 nautical miles southeast of Frenchman Bay, where it was awaiting recharge, on the night of Oct. 12, according to the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.
When a boat was dispatched that week to search for the yellow uncrewed vessel, there was no sign of it, likely indicating the drone boat is adrift in the gulf. It is equipped with float bags, which would prevent it from sinking.
The drone boat, which is about 16 feet long and 4.5 feet wide, was monitoring a harmful algal bloom in the Gulf of Maine.
The drone has markings reading “Uncrewed Surface Vehicle” and “SeaTrac.”
It is operated by a team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems in New Hampshire.
The lobstermen’s association advised anyone who spots the drone boat to report its location and not attempt to recover it. Anyone who tries to recover it does so at their own risk and should exercise caution and not remove the drone boat from the water.
Sightings can be reported to Mike Brosnahan at mbrosnahan@whoi.edu or 508-289-3633.
