A veteran mariner working for Centerline Logistics died in New Jersey after falling and becoming trapped between two moored fuel barges in the Kill Van Kull waterway.
The incident happened at about 0600 on March 16 at Centerline’s dock in Bayonne, N.J., located near the Duraport Marine and Rail Terminal. The mariner has not been identified publicly.
“A career professional mariner with 20-plus years of experience was at his home dock offloading trash when he misjudged the distance between two barges moored side by side, resulting in his fall,” Centerline CEO Matt Godden said in an email to Centerline captains obtained by Professional Mariner.
Godden said the mariner was wearing PPE, or personal protective equipment, at the time he went in the water.
“There was a portable gangway on the barge he was transitioning from that was not deployed,” Godden continued. “There appear to be other access spots between the barges that would have been safer for his transit. His fellow crewmembers took every action possible to rescue him.”
The Kill Van Kull waterway separates Staten Island from Bayonne, N.J. Rescue teams from the U.S. Coast Guard as well as the New York police and fire departments were among the agencies that responded to the emergency call, according to John Hightower, spokesman for Coast Guard Sector New York.
Tugboats separated the barges, allowing NYPD divers to access the mariner. Hightower said the man was unresponsive when he was rescued, and emergency personnel performed CPR at the dock. He was later declared dead at Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island.
It is not clear if the Coast Guard or another state or local agency is investigating the incident. It is also not known how long the man was in the water before being rescued.
In his email to captains, Godden called for a “safety stand-down” and asked captains to discuss the incident with Centerline crews within 24 hours. “The purpose of the meeting is to discuss our everyday tasks and how to remain vigilant, reduce [complacency] and increase our [chances] of everyone coming home safely.”
The Coast Guard said the deceased mariner worked on or near the 122-foot tugboat William F. Fallon Jr., which was named for a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official who died during the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The vessel was formerly owned by Bouchard Transportation before Centerline acquired it in 2021, according to the website TugboatInformation.com.
Seattle-based Centerline Logistics transports petroleum products between terminals and provides bunkering services in numerous U.S. ports, including New York-New Jersey. Attempts to reach Godden for comment on this incident were not successful by press time.