Unified Command Completes Tank Vessel Lift on Staten Island.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command lift and transport the tank vessel John B. Caddell, Tuesday, from Front Street in Staten Island, removing the pollution threat from the environment.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sara Romero.

Donjon Marine’s Chesapeake 1000 lifted the Caddell off the shoreline into the water to be checked for seaworthiness and then prepared for transport to the awaiting marine facility.  The tanker was transported to a beach slip operated by Donjon Marine.

The tank vessel John B. Caddell is a 184-foot tanker ship that washed up on Staten Island as a result of high winds and floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy. The Caddell posed both an environmental and navigational threat to the New York waterways.

The Coast Guard worked with New York City Sheriff’s Department, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers and Donjon Marine to remove the tanker and eliminate the pollution threat.

“This was a large and complex undertaking where safety was our top concern.  We collaborated with our port partners to get the vessel safely moved from the grounded location to an awaiting maritime facility in order to remove the pollution threat from the environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tedd Hutley, Deputy Incident Commander for the Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command, “Everyone was fully engaged to complete the mission safely.”

The Unified Command worked with the New York Police Department to coordinate street closures to maintain public safety.