Posted by FYI (mo) on 7/3/2008, 5:47 am
Link: Asbury Park Press
151.198.126.191
July 3, 2008
Cops: Boat sunk, captain drunk
Commercial fishermen rescued by Coast Guard
By MATT PAIS - STAFF WRITER
A Massachusetts-based captain has been charged with being drunk while at the helm of a 72-foot commercial fishing boat before it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean early Wednesday morning.
A Coast Guard rescue vessel from the Manasquan Inlet station found Shawn R. Rose, 44, and two crew members in the water about a half-mile northeast of the inlet jetties after receiving a distress call about 12:25 a.m. The three men were in survival suits, swimming toward the Coast Guard boat when they were rescued.
Petty Officer Chris McLaughlin, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the three men were in the water no longer than 45 minutes.
Rose, who was piloting the Susan II when it began to take on water, later was cited for operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol after he declined to submit to a Breathalyzer test, State Police Lt. Gerald Lewis said. An additional summons was issued for declining to submit to a breath test, Lewis said.
The vessel was on its way out to sea on a daylong surf-clamming trip, hoping to fill its 448-bushel hold, said Monte Rome, operating manager of Northstar II Fisheries Inc., a fishing fleet at Gloucester, Mass., which owns the ship. The Susan II began making daily runs out of Manasquan Inlet a week ago after a red tide outbreak off the New England coast curtailed fishing there, Rome said.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the sinking, but Rome said the Susan II is believed to have experienced mechanical problems related to the autopilot function that sent the ship into a spin before it began taking on water as it headed out to sea.
"It doesn't appear that it hit anything," he said.
The boat remains at an estimated 35 to 40 feet below the ocean surface, with a small portion of the bow and an antenna visible. Rose and the other two crew members received medical attention but were not seriously injured, authorities said.
Rome said Rose, who could not be reached for comment, is a boat owner himself and longtime commercial fisherman who normally is second in command of the Susan II. The regular captain was unable to make the trip to New Jersey because of a back injury, he said.
Initially Wednesday, Coast Guard and state Department of Environmental Protection officials feared the Susan II's sinking would result in a sizable amount of pollution. The ship was estimated to be carrying between 1,000 and 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel, approximately 100 gallons of hydraulic oil and 35 gallons of lubricating oil.
A 2-mile-long fuel sheen on the sea surface was readily visible from the air, and authorities kept a close watch throughout the day as the sheen moved southeast from the wreck site, McLaughlin said.
By 3 p.m., however, salvage divers were able to able to seal the Susan II's fuel tank vents and plug other holes to prevent further seepage.
"I don't think it polluted that much, which is good," Rome said.
Although the hull of the boat is 42 years old, Rome said, much of the Susan II's mechanical and electrical systems — including its engine — had been recently overhauled.
"I think that probably helped," he said.
DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey confirmed the effects of the spill to be minimal, and said no lingering effects of the sheen are anticipated on beaches this weekend.
   |
|
Responses:
|
