A schooner operated by a Portland tour company, and a lobster boat collided near the entrance to Customs House Wharf on Sunday evening, resulting in one arrest for boating under the influence.
The lobster boat, Patricia Ann, was being operated by Russell N. Parmenter, 39, a lobster fisherman from Yarmouth. The bowsprit of the schooner, the Timberwind, was damaged. Both were attempting to enter their docking slips, said Maine Marine Patrol officer Alex Hebert.
“The schooner was in the process of going to its slip, the first one on the wharf, and the lobster boat is in further, closer to Commercial Street up the wharf, and both were turning in to go into their slip,” Hebert said.
Hebert said he administered field sobriety tests and a breath test, which led to Parmenter’s arrest. He declined to describe the results of those tests, other than to confirm the arrest.
Parmenter was charged with one count of operating a watercraft under the influence of alcohol, according to jail records. The Coast Guard is also investigating to determine who was at fault in the collision, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Nicole Groll.
While the Patricia Ann is classified as a commercial fishing vessel, it was being operated as a recreational vessel at the time of the crash, Groll said.
Portland police said an officer witnessed the collision, took Parmenter into custody and called the Marine Patrol and the Coast Guard to assist.
Parmenter was booked at Cumberland County Jail, but has since been bailed out, jail records show. The schooner is operated by Portland Schooner Co. for pleasure cruises, tourist trips and private rentals. It was built in 1931 in Portland.
No one at the company responded to a message seeking comment Monday.
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