The appearance of an abandoned yellow sailboat, Aura, in Shelburne Harbour has locals talking and the Canada Border Services Agency investigating.

"It became apparent to people as vessels are pulled out [of the water] in the fall that this one had been here for a long time and it was somewhat suspicious," RCMP Sgt. Ben Parry, commander of the Shelburne detachment, told CBC News.

Parry said RCMP were contacted by members of the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club and made aware of an abandoned vessel in front of the yacht club.

Mary Scott, the club's assistant manager, said every boat that's in the harbour is supposed to report to the yacht club.

She said sometimes they don't see new arrivals for 24 hours or so because they arrive late and are tired.

"We were waiting for them to check-in," she said, adding the boat has now been there since at least Thanksgiving.

Suspicions aroused

Parry said when RCMP subsequently learned the vessel had not declared when it came into Canadian waters, they contacted Canada Border Services Agency.

They have essentially taken over the investigation, Parry said, confirming CBSA officers have boarded the vessel and inspected it.

"We know it's foreign-flagged, we know it entered Canadian waters and did not declare to Canada customs so all these are pretty big red flags for us," Parry said.

Parry described the Aura as a single-masted sailboat, about 14 metres long.

Scott said, "It's been painted a numerous amount of times. It's been yellow, over white, over green."

Parry did not immediately know where the sailboat is registered, although he said CBSA does have that information.

He said it is still unclear who owns it. "Its history is still somewhat up in the air."

Parry also said it's not known what the vessel was used for.

Locals curious

Scott said there is a lot of local interest in the sailboat and people are wondering why it's there.

"There's lots of chatter about it," she said. "It's been there long enough that everyone's seen it ."

CBSA confirms officers visited a vessel in Shelburne this week, but isn't saying much more.

RCMP are asking anyone who saw the Aura during the summer to call police in an effort to track the vessel.