Mysterious Unmanned Boats Seen Cruising Around Central Maine Lakes

If you’ve been out on Great Pond or China Lake lately and noticed some odd little boats cruising around with no one on board, you’re not alone. Locals have been buzzing about these mysterious, unmanned vessels that seem to glide silently across the water, even in the middle of the night.

Before you call the Pentagon, relax, the “robot boats” aren’t here to spy on us. According to The Kennebec Journal,  They’re most likely part of an underwater mapping project by a private company using sonar to chart the lake bottom. Think of it like Google Maps, but for fish.

Still, the mystery has caused plenty of curiosity and a few raised eyebrows. Folks in the Belgrade Lakes region say they were caught off guard, with no word ahead of time about who was operating them. Richard LaBelle, president of the Belgrade Lakes Association, told the KJ he started looking into it after seeing chatter online and even spotted a few himself in the early hours of the morning.

Turns out, the vessels appear to be controlled remotely by a company based out of Texas. According to one fisherman on China Lake, the operator told him he’s hired to map lakes around the country for different clients but couldn’t say exactly who hired him for this job, the newspaper said.

State officials with Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife say they’re aware of the situation and looking into it. The vessels don’t technically count as watercraft under state law, so they don’t need to be registered — but they still have to follow Maine’s invasive species rules.

So no, the robots aren’t invading, they’re just mapping the lake. Still, it’s a reminder that even on a quiet Maine pond, technology’s never too far behind.