11-23-04 -- Bayonne Durable Construction Company, Inc. -- Lawsuit -- News Release

Government Sues Bayonne Salvage Company to Remove Sunken Hull from Kill Van Kull

NEWARK - The federal government today filed a lawsuit against a Bayonne scrap and recycling company seeking a court order to have a former Staten Island ferry removed from the waters of the Kill Van Kull, where the sunken hull potentially threatens shipping and recreational boating in the channel, one of the world's busiest waterways, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

The suit, filed today in U.S. District Court in Newark, accuses the Bayonne Durable Construction Company, Inc. of creating an obstruction to navigation in the waters of the United States. The suit seeks a court order compelling the removal of the sunken hull, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil R. Gallagher, who filed the lawsuit on the government's behalf.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bayonne Durable purchased the ferryboat for scrap and placed the hull in the Kill Van Kull alongside a pier in about July 2003. The vessel was partially disassembled but sunk into the waters at the foot of 2d Street in Bayonne before salvage was completed. The government claims the sunken vessel potentially threatens to encroach into the federal channel, a deep channel dredged in the Kill Van Kull that is used by large vessels.

Federal law provides that the owner, lessee or operator of a vessel or other craft sunk in navigable waters of the United States is required to immediately mark and remove it and further empowers the United States Attorney to bring action for injunctive relief to enforce its provisions .

Christie credited the United States Army Corps of Engineers with developing the case in the course of their responsibilities for maintaining New York Harbor, which Christie noted was"a vital part of our nation's economy."

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Defense counsel:

Christopher S. Porrino, Esq. Woodbridge, N.J.