A northern Labrador man is facing a charge of assault after woman was hit with a weapon on a coastal Labrador boat.

The RCMP said the incident happened Monday night on the Northern Ranger while it was at sea.

"In this case, the victim needed stitches at a local medical facility. It's not bad enough she was assaulted, but also need stitches and there were injuries," RCMP Sgt. Boyd Merrill said.

Merrill said the incident is alleged to have happened in a public area of the boat.

He said a passenger or crewmember called the police.

The man, 26, was arrested when the Northern Ranger docked Tuesday morning in Makkovik.

"This [man] is not unknown to police, quite an extensive history of similar types of things. We'll be putting that information in front of the crown prosecutor so he can relay it to the court," Merrill said.

Police said the man was intoxicated when arrested. He's been released to appear in court at a later date.