SWAMPSCOTT Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — There is a particular lift boat that is generating some extra attention in Swampscott these days, and WBZ NewsRadio went to check it out.

The town has received a grant to design a new pier at Fisherman’s Beach in the North Shore community, but first, it needed to be determined if it was even possible. That is when the boat, known as the Seismic Princess, was put to the test.

“This is a particularly specialized kind of floating vessel that’s used to collect marine engineering information,” said Jay Borkland, a Volunteer Advisor for the Harbor and Waterfront Advisory Committee in Swampscott.

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The boat is about 40 feet long with three giant pillars that are controlled with hydraulics that sink down to the bottom of harbor, allowing the vessel to be mounted some 20 feet above the water’s surface.

“Yes, it is a curiosity. There’s only a few of these vessels [left] in New England,” Borkland added.

The lift boat uses a drill to obtain samples from below the bottom of the harbor.

“If the boat were not on those legs and lifted out, it would be moving around with the waves,” said Jackson Schultz, Chair of the Harbor and Waterfront Advisory Committee for Town of Swampscott.

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Work is being done at the harbor to plan for a potential 20-million-dollar pier project (that could be done by 2030). While the vessel is stationed at the harbor, however for now, it is raising more questions about the project than answers.

WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.