Nearly a dozen rescued from sinking boat in Sheepshead Bay; Coast Guard investigating fuel leak
The U.S. Coast Guard says the boat, named Capt. Jeff, left around 7 p.m. for a fishing trip with 11 on board, including the captain.
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A late-night fishing trip turned into a rescue operation Monday night when nearly a dozen passengers had to be pulled from a sinking boat near Pier One in Sheepshead Bay.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, one person was still aboard the 59-foot vessel as it began to sink around 9:30 p.m. First responders were able to retrieve the person and treat them at the scene.
Witness Joey Haggerty says he was on the dock when the vessel returned, already half-submerged.
“I wanted to make sure everybody gets off the boat safely and nobody gets hurt,” he said.
Haggerty and the group tried to secure the boat, but water kept pouring in.
The Coast Guard says the vessel’s captain - known locally as “Captain Jeff” - was tying up the boat when he realized the exhaust had fallen off, allowing water to flood in rapidly.
By Tuesday morning, the boat remained submerged and tied to the dock, leaking fuel into the bay. Cleanup crews arrived around 11 a.m. and began deploying oil-absorbing boom pads to contain the spill.
“This is, to me, an environmental disaster,” said one local boater. “Having this much fuel leak into the bay is not good.”
Fishermen in the area expressed frustration.
"I can’t fish off the pier now—my fish’ll be full of gas," they said.
News 12 cameras also spotted an expired inspection sticker from 2017 on the boat’s window. It remains unclear whether the vessel has been inspected since.
