State is rightful owner of sunken ship near Bar Harbor, judge rules
A lobster boat seen from a ledge on Acadia Mountain in September 2023. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
The state of Maine is the rightful owner of a ship that sank near the coast of Bar Harbor 130 years ago, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
The Maine State Museum and a private company, formed by people interested in the wreck, have been fighting in U.S. District Court for two years over ownership of the Delhi, a two-masted schooner that transported granite from the state in the late 19th century.
The Delhi sank shortly after leaving port in 1893, having struck ice while carrying thousands of granite pavers. There were witnesses on shore, according to historical records, and a short blurb was published days later in the Ellsworth American.
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In his ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon Nivison wrote that legend has it that for decades afterward, the Delhi’s masts were visible during low tide until the Coast Guard cut them down around World War II.
“The age of the vessel and the decline of the granite industry in the years that followed call into question the economic worth of the wreck and its cargo and the then-owners’ interest in recovery,” Nivison wrote.
Since then, the Delhi and its granite cargo has laid under about 120 feet of water. In March 2024, JJM, LLC, based in Southwest Harbor, filed a maritime claim seeking ownership and salvaging rights. The state museum, represented by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, intervened weeks later.
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The National Park Service determined the wreck was eligible for its registry of historic places in August, upon the state’s request.
Nivison wrote that, under the federal Abandoned Shipwreck Act, this designation bars any private salvaging of the Delhi without state approval.
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JJM’s attorney, Benjamin Ford, said on Tuesday that the group was still weighing whether to appeal.
JJM sued the National Park Service in September. That case focuses on the state and JJM’s disagreement regarding the ship’s current condition under the water.
Diving experts for the state and an archaeologist for the National Park Service have stated in court records that they believe much of the ship has remained intact, despite its age, because of how deeply buried it is in sediment.
JJM argues that the ship is less preserved.
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Ford believes the state and federal government did not follow the proper procedure.
“There is nothing left of this wreck,” Ford said on Tuesday. “It’s not like what you see at the bottom of a fish tank, with a skeleton hanging onto the wheel.”
Ford said his clients are interested in salvaging and keeping the granite pavers. He said they are an important part of Maine’s history, given the state’s large and active granite industry following the Civil War. JJM has offered to retrieve other historic artifacts from the wreck, like teacups and saucers, Ford said.
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A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to comment Tuesday, and the museum’s director did not immediately respond to a request to discuss the case.
Director Bernard Fishman said in May 2025 that he believed the case could set important precedent for the next time that a private entity encounters a wreck in state or federal waters.
The state has shared no plans publicly to excavate the wreck, and Ford said his clients fear the Delhi will remain under water and at risk of looting.
“All of that gets lost if the state leaves this thing there at the bottom of the ocean,” Ford said.
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Tagged: Bar Harbor, shipwreck, us district court
Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was. More by Emily Allen
