effort, and the items recovered can be viewed at the Maine State Museum. Empire Knight (1944) In February 1944, the Empire Knight, a 428-foot (130 m) British freighter, ran aground at Boon Island and later broke into two sections. The stern section, which included the ship's cargo holds, sank in approximately 260 feet (80 m) of water, one and one half miles (2–3 km) from the Island. In August 1990, the United States Coast Guard became aware of the existence of a plan of stowage dating from 1944 for the ship indicating that 221 flasks (7,620 kg) of mercury may have been loaded onto the vessel. Investigation revealed that such flasks had been placed on the ship but had since deteriorated, releasing the mercury. An estimated 16,000 pounds (7¼ t) of mercury remain unrecovered and it is believed to have settled in the low point of the cargo hold. Ownership In May 2000, the U.S. Coast Guard leased Boon Island Lighthouse to the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) for the restoration and preservation of the historic light. In 2014 the lighthouse was sold to real estate developer Art Girard, who subsequently sold it in 2015 to Boon Island LLC. See also List of islands of Maine Citations External links History of Boon Island Light Balkan, Evan. Shipwrecked! Deadly Adventures and Disasters at Sea. Birmingham, AL: Menasha Ridge, 2008, pp. 34–42 Vietze, Andrew and Erickson, Stephen, "Boon Island: A True Story of Mutiny, Shipwreck and Cannibalism" . Gilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2012 Islands of York County, Maine Disasters in Maine Shipwrecks of the Maine coast Incidents of cannibalism Pre-statehood history of Maine History of Maine York, Maine Islands of Maine Coastal islands of Maine