Fisherman hauls in a 5-foot-long military rocket
A US lobsterman has hauled in an extraordinary and dangerous catch while fishing in Maine.
Captain Cameron Pease, based out of Cushing, Maine, spotted something tangled in his lobster boat's trawling rope and upon closer inspection, he discovered that he had in fact pulled in a 5-foot-long rocket.
Maine State Police were alerted, and their bomb squad identified the rocket as an MK29 Mod-0, a type of missile commonly associated with sea-based launching systems.
In a post on Facebook, they said: "With x-ray imaging, the technicians were unable to confirm that the item did not contain explosive material.
"Due to its condition, the decision was made to countercharge the item with the guidance from Navy EOD Mobile Unit 12."
Capt Pease told Maine news station WABI-5 that he thinks the item was a high velocity aircraft rocket most likely used during the 1940s or 50s.
"On the top of the missile, it said it had expired in 2003 so who knows how long it had been down since before then," he added.
Multiple ships associated with the US Armed Forces can carry the MK 29 missile launching system, including Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Zumwalt-class destroyers, according to the US think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The item was later "rendered safe and disposed of properly" the Maine State Police said.
They also gave "special thanks to South Thomaston Fire Department for providing additional resources to aid with the disposal".
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