Maine judge grants possession of abandoned 130-year-old shipwreck to the state

(CN) — A Maine federal judge signed off on Tuesday on the Pine Tree State’s request to take control of a 130-year-old sunken shipwreck off the coast of Bar Harbor over the claims of a private salvage company seeking ownership rights to the wreckage.

Sailing from Saco, Maine, loaded with granite paving stones, the Delhi is believed to have sunk in 1893, after it struck ice about six miles off Somes Sound off Mount Desert Island, Maine, within view of the shore.

Some 131 years after the Delhi wrecked, the salvage company JJM LLC filed a salvage rights claim to the underwater remains of two-mastered schooner in Maine federal court in March 2024, seeking exclusive ownership of the boat and any artifacts it contained.

But a federal magistrate judge ruled the title of possession belongs to the state of Maine — which joined the suit as an intervenor — as the state on which the submerged wreck is located.

“Following a review of the record, for the reasons explained herein, the court finds no material disputed facts that would warrant a trial as to whether the State of Maine holds title to the Delhi under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, 43 U.S.C. § 2105,” U.S. Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison wrote in an opinion granting the state’s motion for summary judgment.

Nivison also concluded that under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, the shipwreck is formally abandoned and eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places — which is also the subject of a separate pending lawsuit filed in Bangor federal court by JJM LLC against the U.S. National Park Service and the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places.

JJM’s attorney Benjamin E. Ford, from the Portland, Maine-based Archipelago Law, told Courthouse News Tuesday the decision “does not come as a complete surprise.”

“We were hoping he would give more scrutiny to the process, or lack thereof, the National Park Service accorded to JJM (my client) in declaring the wreck site to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. But that lack of process is the topic of a separate appeal,” Ford said.

“This case is about the history of our coast,” he added. “The location of this wreck makes it vulnerable to looters. JJM has an economic interest in recovering the pavers, which have little historical value. The state of Maine has a policy interest in preserving the artifacts. We hope to work with the state to accomplish both those goals.”

The ship’s name was initially sealed in court records until a judge ordered its release in May 2025.

Maine intervened and moved for summary judgment in November 2025, on its claim that it holds title to the Delhi.

Thousands of granite pavers are visible above the mudline at the wreck site, with one paver removed from the Delhi measuring approximately 6 inches by 3.5 inches by 10 inches and weighing about 25 pounds.

Thousands more granite pavers are believed to submerged under the muddy seafloor in the wreckage, but are not visible to remotely operated vehicle drones that examined the site.

The Maine Attorney General’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment.

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