- A Maine lobsterman discovered a large military rocket while checking his traps 20 miles offshore.
- Authorities could not determine whether or not the rocket contained active explosives.
A Maine lobsterman discovered a large military rocket when collecting traps 20 miles off offshore this week, according to police.
Cameron Pease — who is based in Cushing, Maine — pulled up the 5-foot rocket on Monday, and he alerted authorities the following day, Maine State Police said in a statement.
Pease found the rocket, which weighed about 150 pounds, after he spotted something caught in his trawling ropes, ABC News reported.
The Maine State Police Bomb Squad received information about the finding on Tuesday and sent a bomb technician to analyze the item. The bomb squad later identified it as a MK29 Mod-0 missile, a missile often associated with sea-based weapons systems.
"They said there was three to five pounds of explosives in the tip of it," Pease told local news outlet WMTW.
"It still should have been able to go off," he added.
The police statement, however, said technicians were not able to confirm whether or not the rocket contained active explosives.
But the officers erred on the side of caution and "the decision was made to countercharge the item," with guidance from the Navy, the statement said.
"The item was rendered safe and disposed of properly," it added.
US military ships, including Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, can carry the MK 29 launching system, per the ABC News report.