Boat-Channel Marker Crash in Barnegat Bay Remains Under Investigation

Traders Cove Marina, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)

U.S. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday that a boat accident that occurred Sunday night in Barnegat Bay was still under investigation by state police, and that its crews have inspected the channel market into which the vessel crashed.

The crash occurred at about 10 p.m. Sunday night, said USCG Petty Officer 3rd Class Olinda Romero. The vessel, details of which were not available, struck the red “14” marker along the Intracoastal Waterway, the main channel in the bay. The marker is mounted to a heavy aluminum pole that is dug into the floor of the bay. It is not a lighted marker, but is outfitted with reflectors and is marked on all electronic charts.

The location of the “14” ICW marker in Barnegat Bay. (Credit: Argo Nav)

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The “14” marker, which delineates the western edge of the channel, is the second-closest marker on the south side of Mantoloking Bridge. The crash occurred there – not within Traders Cove Marina nor the popular F-Cove anchored as initially rumored. Brick firefighters, police officers and EMTs responded to the scene along with state police and a 29-foot USCG response boat from Station Manasquan Inlet. According to Brick officials, a medevac helicopter brought one accident victim to Jersey Shore University Medical Center while two other passengers with minor injuries were treated at a local hospital. The response was managed from Traders Cove, which also served as the helicopter landing zone.

Romero said a USCG crew inspected the “14” marker on Monday following the accident, and found an anchor chain and rode, as well as a line that the boaters had apparently used to temporarily secure the vessel after the accident. That evidence, she said, was turned over to state police, who are still in the midst of conducting an investigation.