(WASHINGTON) — On Nov. 18, 2022, at approximately 2 p.m., the operator of the uninspected vessel Sea Mule was moving dredge pipe on a canal in the vicinity of Smith Point Marina County Park in Shirley, N.Y., for a commercial company. The vessel operator was towing dredge pipe from the shoreside work site to the east bank of the canal.
The operator of the vessel failed to return to the shoreside work site after the dredge pipe was towed into position as expected. Workers on land went to the end of the canal to look for the operator but could not find the vessel operator. The workers and good Samaritans found Sea Mule in gear and pushed against dredge pipe on the east side of the canal with no one on board.
The workers and good Samaritans conducted their search but could not locate the Sea Mule operator. The U.S. Coast Guard and local police were notified, and subsequent searches were conducted that yielded no results. The Suffolk County Police Department assumed the lead for search and rescue efforts due to the location and nature of the incident. Vessels, helicopters, a police drone, the police K-9 division and shoreside personnel were used to search for the missing Sea Mule operator. The search continued for approximately two weeks.
On Nov. 30, 2022, the Suffolk County Police Department dive team located the Sea Mule operator on the bottom of the canal. After the retrieval, the Sea Mule operator was taken to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office where he was pronounced deceased, with the cause of death determined to be drowning.
As a result of this investigation, the Coast Guard has determined that the initiating event for this casualty was Sea Mule striking an unknown object in the water. This was followed by the operator falling overboard and drowning. The causal factors that contributed to the casualty include (1) alliding with an unknown object in the canal, (2) only one person on board the vessel, (3) the operator not wearing a personal flotation device, and (4) the operator not securing the engine safety ignition cutoff switch to his person.
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– U.S. Coast Guard
