Crews work to move stuck boat before anything explodes at old bombing range on NC coast
Once the Coast Guard rescued the crew of commercial fishing boat that ran aground on the North Carolina coast, they had another problem to deal with.
The 88-foot vessel ran aground in Browns Inlet, near Jacksonville. The problem is, the area was a live-fire training ground and the area could be littered with unexploded ordnance “dating back to World War II.”
Another problem: “There is an estimated 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel onboard the fishing vessel.” There have been no reports so far of pollution from the stranded boat, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted four fishermen off the Sea Angel Monday morning after the ship ran aground in the inlet, the Coast Guard said. The crew said the boat ran aground after they had mechanical problems, the Coast Guard said.
Browns Island, just off the coast from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, has been a target range for military training since the 1940s, according to the The Camp Lejeune Globe, the official base newspaper.
Hurricane Florence exposed more unexploded ordnance on the island this year, which, The Globe said, included “naval gunnery practice and live fire from mortars, machine guns, rockets and artillery.”
The military did a sweep of the island in October 2018 and found four bombs in one day. “Each of the bombs has approximately 192 pounds of high explosives in them, totaling 788 pounds discovered in one day alone,” the newspaper reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard is working with nearby Camp Lejeune, state officials, Onslow County and the boat’s owner for the recovery operation.
“Our priority is ensuring the safety of both response personnel and the public while mitigating potential environmental impacts,” said Coast Guard Capt. Bion Stewart. “We are thankful for the expertise of our interagency partners, which is instrumental to the response efforts.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Crews work to move stuck boat before anything explodes at old bombing range on NC coast."
