A New Jersey fire department has described the extraordinary moment one of its rescue boats was sunk by a surfacing humpback whale during a routine return from a marine security deployment. The collision left the vessel with catastrophic damage and underwater within minutes, but all three firefighters escaped unharmed thanks to nearby boaters, fellow emergency crews and the fact they were wearing lifejackets.
‘While the Carteret Fire Department Marine Unit regularly trains to rescue civilians from the water and respond to marine emergencies, fires, and vehicle incidents, an event of this nature is something no one anticipates. Understandably, it has left those involved shaken, but we are incredibly thankful that everyone returned home safely to their families,’ says an official statement on the unit’s Facebook page.
The ‘events serve as a powerful reminder that no matter how routine a mission may seem, every emergency response carries risks – and we are incredibly grateful that every member made it home safely’.
These words come as the New Jersey fire chief Eric Wahl told news outlets: “We were doing seven or eight knots, and all of a sudden, there was this loud bang.”
The incident took place off the New Jersey coast as Wahl and his crew came back from a 4th July security detail (which has unofficially been identified as America’s 250th anniversary celebrations near the Statue of Liberty), when their boat was suddenly struck by what was believed to be a surfacing humpback whale.
“When I opened up the engine hatch, I looked below, and, to my surprise, there was a big hole in the back wall of the boat, and, seawater was pouring in at a quick pace. We grabbed what we could, we sounded our distress signals,” Wahl continues.
Bystanders and fellow responders come to the rescue
A bystander who raced to the scene to help says the boat sank within a minute. He’d been watching the pod of whales surface in that area – breaching and lunge feeding.
No injuries were reported and it’s generally been agreed that the boat was simply in the wrong place the wrong time.
The firefighters were rescued first by a recreational boater and a jet skier before being transferred to the Perth Amboy Fire Department’s marine unit. All three crew members were wearing lifejackets, which officials credited with preventing injuries.
The whale breached the ocean’s surface directly underneath the boat, striking its stern as it approached the mouth of Raritan Bay, between New Jersey and Staten Island, according to the firefighters and Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman.
The incident, which happened at 16:30, was as Carteret Fire Department Marine Unit 2 was rerunning from a regional special operations marine security detail for the NY/NJ Port area.
A post by Carteret Fire Department & EMS Division on Facebook says that CFD Marine 2 was ‘violently struck beneath the stern by a surfacing whale that breached the water south of the Arthur Kill at the mouth of Raritan Bay, causing catastrophic damage to the vessel’.
The post continues: ‘A nearby recreational vessel reported observing a pod of whales breaching the water both before and after the incident. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under review, and additional information will be shared as it becomes available’.
Lifejackets credited with preventing tragedy
The department has extended its sincere appreciation to the recreational jet ski operator and additional boater who immediately came to aid the stricken crew, as well as the members of the Perth Amboy Fire Department Marine Unit and FMBA Local 58/258 for assisting in safely rescuing the firefighters from the channel.
It’s also used the aftermath to serve an important reminder of the value of wearing a properly fitted life jacket. ‘Every member aboard was wearing the required personal flotation device, which played a critical role in keeping them safe until rescuers arrived. We encourage all boaters, jet ski operators, kayakers, and anyone enjoying the water to always wear a life jacket’.
While investigators review the incident, officials and marine experts agree it appears to have been an exceptionally rare accident involving a whale feeding near the surface. For emergency services and recreational boaters alike, the incident has become a stark reminder that even routine operations can change in seconds.
The fate of the whale is currently unknown.
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