'Catastrophic failure': Efforts to salvage fishing trawler Susan Rose end with it sinking

The salvage of the Susan Rose, the fishing boat that ran aground in Point Pleasant Beach, was going as planned early Sunday when water started coursing into the 48-year-old commercial trawler with eight crew members on board, the salvage company owner said.

The boat ended up sinking about a half mile offshore during the salvage operation.

It was a hairy moment for the salvage crew. But they got off the 77-foot vessel safely before the boat became submerged in about 48 feet of water, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew West said.

The boat's life raft, equipped with a hydrostatic release unit, was still moored to the boat and floating on the water, serving as a warning buoy Sunday. Broadcasts have been warning boaters to steer clear of the area, West said.

One passing boat got caught in the Susan Rose's fishing lines, but the problem was resolved, West said.

Northstar Marine Services of Cape May County was handling the salvage operation. A tug boat was hauling the trawler to a shipyard in Tottenville in Staten Island where it was due to be lifted out of the water.

Phillip Risko, Northstar's owner, described for the Asbury Park Press the moments leading up to Susan Rose's disappearance beneath the surface.

"We rigged it, took the fuel off of it, had pumps on board and a whole crew of people. It usually takes a couple of tide cycles to get the boat turned around heading in the right direction, which of course we did," Risko said. "And then finally, we were able to refloat it."

Then the crew went below and examined the engine room and the main compartment, he said.

"They didn't see any flooding or anything. We had the pumps prepared, but didn't use them. And then minutes later, something failed — some sort of catastrophic failure. And we're not sure what it was," Risko said. "Normally, you'd have some warning and we'd start the pumps. But we didn't have time to do that. It was instantaneous."

Water poured into the boat and it started listing when Northstar's crew abandoned the vessel, he said.

There wasn't much more to do than take it further away from shore so it didn't interfere with marine traffic, Risko said.

In the coming days, Risko will be talking to the boat's owner to discuss next steps.

"We have to figure out whether it's going to be picked up and moved, or refloated or exactly what's going to happen, and figure out why it sank, of course, and then come up with a plan," he said. "It's a bit of a challenge."

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The Susan Rose is made of steel. "Fiberglass and wood boats don't weigh a lot under water, but steel boats weigh about as much as they do above water," he said.

Risko suspects the hull of the boat was damaged because the trawler suffered a vicious pounding from the waves after it ran aground.

About 5 a.m. Friday, the Coast Guard received an emergency message about the grounding, West said.

The Susan Rose was approaching the Manasquan Inlet but instead of entering it, the boat came ashore at the north end of Point Pleasant Beach, a witness told the Asbury Park Press. All four members of the boat's crew were safely removed from the vessel by the Point Pleasant Beach Fire Department, West said.

The home port of the Susan Rose is Port Judith in Rhode Island, according to both MarineTraffic.com, which monitors boat traffic, and commercial fishermen from the Point Pleasant Fishermen's Cooperative Dock.

Capt. Jim Lovgren, who sits on the co-op's executive board, said the boat is part of The Town Dock fleet in Narragansett and is here in New Jersey fishing for sea bass and fluke. It had been delivering its catch to the co-op dock.

Risko said there was no catch on board when the Susan Rose ran aground.

Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Catastrophic failure': Salvage crew barely escapes sinking of trawler