JONESPORT – The Maine Marine Patrol became one vessel bigger and better on Tuesday with the commissioning of the new boat Maine.

The Maine is a 42-foot vessel that is based out of the U.S. Coast Guard station in Jonesport.

“It’s awesome,” said Major John Fetterman, the agency’s deputy officer out of Augusta. “Among other things, it will benefit the people and communities of Washington County. It will allow our officers to go to sea safely 12 months a year.”

The Maine replaces the 35-foot Sentinel, which the agency has moved to Lubec. The Sentinel will now patrol the Cobscook Bay area.

The Maine was built originally in 2002 by Wesmac in Surry for a Portland individual who used it as a tuna-fishing yacht, said Lt. Alan Talbot of the Marine Patrol’s Lamoine office.

Modifications were made to open up the stern, add a heating system and increase the capacity of the boat’s trap-hauling system to handle larger gear. It has an 800-horsepower Caterpillar engine.

By the time the vessel was fully upgraded and ready for its new mission, the cost was about $500,000, Fetterman said. Its purchase was possible through a joint enforcement agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service of Gloucester, Mass.

The Marine Patrol keeps similar-capacity vessels in Portland and Rockland.

“This enhances our ability to patrol further offshore,” Talbot said. “Our officers have authority to enforce federal fishing laws, and that takes place outside of the three miles. The larger boats enable us to go further offshore, where it’s rougher.”

The new vessel also has live-aboard capabilities.

As many as 30 people gathered Tuesday for the commissioning ceremony, including representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and the office of Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

Specialist Mark Murry of Machias is the boat captain for the Maine.

Fetterman had words of praise for Murry and two other Marine Patrol officers Down East, Specialist Russell Wright and Officer Dave Dent.

“I have a list as long as my arm of the search and rescue missions that these men have handled and assisted the Coast Guard on,” he said. “That includes looking for kayakers, overdue boats and fishermen lost in the fog.”

Shifting the Sentinel to the waters of Cobscook Bay means more of Down East is covered, Fetterman said.

“We had made a pledge to the Cobscook Bay fishermen for increased presence there,” he said. “We had always tried to cover that area with smaller boats, but at best that meant seasonal coverage. This new service gives the Cobscook Bay area a permanent presence.”