Just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Susan Rose, a 77-foot commercial fishing vessel that ran aground on the beach just feet south of the Manasquan Inlet – then sunk a bit farther offshore following a failed effort to tow it off the beach – has been re-floated and will eventually be removed and likely sold for scrap. (Note: If video of the salvage operation is now playing, disable ad blocking software and reload this page.)
Crews began staging equipment last week in the area about 3,000 feet off the beach in Point Pleasant Beach where the stricken vessel dipped below the waves and sunk to the bottom in under 100-feet of water. Rumors swirled for months about what would happen to the former commercial fishing trawler, owned by The Town Dock Inc. in Narragansett, R.I., but no action took place. Various government agencies referred questions to other agencies, with a commercial towing service eventually attaching a buoy marker to the vessel and leaving it sitting on the bottom of the ocean, even through the busy spring and summer boating seasons.
A barge in place to salvage the Susan Rose almost a year to the day it sank off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 10, 2024. (Photo: John Barrett)
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A buoy and navigational marker floating above the wreck of the Susan Rose off Point Pleasant Beach, Nov. 20, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
A 77-foot commercial fishing vessel runs aground in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
A 77-foot commercial fishing vessel runs aground in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, salvage crews were able to empty the boat’s fuel tanks before the ill-fated recovery operation, avoiding a potential environmental hazard. The USCG issued a notice to mariners warning of the position of the boat, which sunk south of its original position where it became beached in the breaking waves, drawing all-day-long crowds of onlookers to see the unusual sight.
The position of the boat so close to the entrance of Mansquan Inlet that some believed it would pose a potential hazard to navigation, though it ultimately proved close enough to shore that most vessels would not approach from such an angle.
The USCG determined the boat became disabled after missing the inlet entrance and running aground, eventually becoming lodged in the sand at the point of the breakers in Point Pleasant Beach. The vessel’s crew managed to escape unharmed.
A 77-foot commercial fishing vessel runs aground in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
A barge in place to salvage the Susan Rose almost a year to the day it sank off Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 10, 2024. (Photo: John Barrett)
A buoy and navigational marker floating above the wreck of the Susan Rose off Point Pleasant Beach, Nov. 20, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
A 77-foot commercial fishing vessel runs aground in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Nov. 17, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
Crews from Northstar Marine and its partner, Resolve Marine, are responsible for the effort to re-float and remove the Susan Rose and transport it to land by barge after being hauled out of the water via crane. The USCG announced a safety zone around the scene of the recovery site, and local, state and federal agencies kept constant watch over the scene, as well as local marine towing services. Boaters enjoying New Jersey’s warm fall weather were requested to maintain a no wake zone around the scene and give it at least a 500-yard berth.
Officials did not say where, exactly, the ship would be brought after it is salvaged and placed on the barge, however one source said the boat would almost certainly be written off and sold for scrap.
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