BARNEGAT – A 53-foot fishing vessel that ran aground earlier this week has the potential to leak approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel, the Coast Guard said.
The boat, named Bay of Isle, had run aground on Tuesday at the Barnegat Inlet jetty. It began taking on water.
A passenger on board contacted watchstanders at the Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light. Due to their location, Coast Guard employees determined that a boat crew would not be able to reach them. Instead, they launched a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City. The air crew aboard hoisted two people from the fishing vessel onto the helicopter and brought them back to the Atlantic City station.
The vessel has started to deteriorate in the surf, the Coast Guard reported. Due to its location and weather conditions, it is not safe yet to remove the fuel or place a containment boom.
There has been no visible pollution as of Thursday evening.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and working with the owner of the vessel, a salvage company, and state and local agencies,” said Lt. Cmdr. Fred Pugh, chief of incident management at Sector Delaware Bay. “The protection of our waterways in the region are our foremost priority in this case.”
