F/V Four Daughters; Offshore Sandy Hook, NJ

Offshore Sandy Hook, NJ | 2003-Jul-17

Initial Notification: The 86 foot fishing vessel (F/V) Four Daughters was reported to have sank 52 nautical miles SE of Sandy Hook NJ at around 0230 hours that night of 17 July, 2003. When the vessel sank it was reported to have a capacity of some 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel. At 1600 hours of 17 July the Coast Guard's Fifth Coast Guard District "M" staff requested from NOAA a trajectory for the diesel fuel that might be released from the tanks of the F/V Four Daughters. By 1715 hours NOAA provided to the Fifth Coast Guard District initial trajectory and weather reports. NOAA suggested that no diesel products were expected to contact the shoreline from a release from a sunken vessel at this distance offshore. NOAA's report also stated that if oil did leak diesel from the vessel that "we would expect some rainbow to silver sheen to extend for several hundred yards downwind of the location where the vessel sank." The detailed NOAA weather report that was provided to the Coast Guard outlined that winds would be light and variable at 5-10 knots on Thursday night and on Friday with a chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms on Friday afternoon. MSO Philadelphia reported to Fifth District that a Coast Guard over-flight of the area on the afternoon of 17 July did observe some wreckage from the F/V Four Daughters, but did not observe any floating oil.