According to the state police the captain of a 71-foot fishing boat that sank off the central New Jersey coast early Wednesday has been charged with being drunk at the helm. The police also told that Shawn R. Rose, 44, of Wellfleet, Mass., was cited for operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and for refusing to take a Breathalyzer test. Later the captain was released on his own recognizance.
The Coast Guard official informed that it received a call for assistance from the vessel Susan II, which was reported taking on water around 12:15 a.m. about a half-mile northeast of the Manasquan inlet’s jetties. After that a rescue boat arrived and found three people including the captain in the water in survival suits. The rescue team took the crew of the sunken boat to an area hospital for evaluation, but were not seriously injured, opined the officials.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris McLaughlin said that the boat carried between 1,000 and 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. A small amount of diesel fuel and lubricating oil was released before divers from a salvage crew prevented further seepage by sealing the fuel tank vents. According to McLaughlin the released diesel fuel sent a 30-foot wide sheen about two miles south in the Atlantic Ocean, but officials said much of it evaporated quickly. However, environmental officials said the fuel stayed offshore and did not pose a hazard.
Monte Rome, operating manager of Northstar II Fisheries Inc., a fishing fleet at Gloucester, Mass., told that the the vessel was on its way out to sea on a daylong surf clamming trip. He believed that the vessel may have experienced mechanical problems related to its autopilot function before it began taking on water.
