A bomb squad on Monday detonated a military ballistic projectile that was picked up by a fishing vessel and delivered ashore at Bailey Island in Harpswell.

The device – found Monday morning on the docks at the Bailey Island Lobster Wharf – was blown up in a local sand pit by the Maine State Police bomb squad, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The projectile, which became caught in the gear of the fishing vessel, was brought ashore on Saturday. The object had been hauled aboard roughly 12 miles off the coast, the sheriff’s office said.

It measured about 6 inches in diameter and 3 to 4 feet long.

The projectile was initially tangled in fishing lines and covered in mud, but once the fishermen saw it was labeled “live round” they left it alone and called the sheriff’s office.

Deputies notified the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, which in turn called the state police bomb squad.

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