Trenton, New Jersey (NewYorkInjuryNews.com) — New Jersey state police have accused the captain of a commercial fishing boat in Massachusetts for being drunk at the controls when the 70 foot vessel sank off the Manasquan coast in the early hours of July 2nd 2008. The vessel was a Massachusetts-based Gloucester named Susan II.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two staff members and the captain from the Susan II after a call was received at 2:30 am that the ship was sinking, said Christopher McLaughlin, the spokesman of the Coast Guard. The ship went down around half a mile northeast at Manasquan Inlet of Jetties. It is going to remain submerged in the water unless it is removed by one of the salvage crews.
The spokesman of the state police, Lt. Gerald Lewis, said that the captain of the ship, 44-year old Shawn R. Rose from Wellfleet, Massachusetts, has been charged with running the vessel while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol though he refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Approximately 1,000 – 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel was being carried by the ship. Christopher McLaughlin said that some lubricating oil and diesel fuel had been released before the divers from the salvage crew tried to prevent further seepage through sealing the vents in the fuel tank. The released fuel sent a wide sheen of 30 feet stretching over 3 miles to the south in Atlantic Ocean but the state and county environmental officials said that the fuel managed to stay off the shore and did not pose any hazard.
The acting coordinator from the office of emergency management of Monmouth County, Gary McTighe, said that the beaches are going to remain open and they are not expected to effect the holiday weekend.