Hurricane Sandy Cleanup: Tanker Removed from Staten Island Street

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The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that salvage crews on Tuesday successfully lifted the 184-foot John B Caddell tanker off a Staten Island street and back into the water where she belongs.

Photos of the tanker literally sitting in the middle of Front Street in Staten Island became some of the most memorable images depicting Hurricane Sandy’s record storm surge in New York Harbor, with photos of her resting on the pavement splashed across news reports and social media.

The USCG says that salvage crews from Donjon Marine lifted the Caddell back into the water using the Chesapeake 1000 crane barge and the vessel will now have to be checked for seaworthiness before it is transported to a nearby facility for repairs.

Getting the ship off the street proved to truly be a team effort. 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 any pollution threats.

“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.”

Bravo! Now here are some photos of the operation…

Updated: December 14, 2012 (Originally published December 12, 2012)

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