Dredge Pipe Explodes Off Seaside Heights, NJ

Three people were injured yesterday after a pipe burst on a dredging vessel located off Grant Avenue in Seaside Heights in Ocean County, New Jersey, local media reports. 

According to Chief Petty Officer 3rd Class, Shannon Kearney, the U.S. Coast Guard received a report at 2:40 p.m. of three men being injured when the dredge suction pipe ruptured.

The dredger was located off the coast of Grant Avenue, said Seaside Heights Police Chief, Thomas Boyd.

“At this point, there’s no word on what caused the suction pipe to burst and a full investigation is underway and the Coast Guard will be handling it,” said Boyd.

Seaside Police stated that three men all suffered non life threatening injuries and were transferred to the Manasquan Inlet’s Coast Guard Station in Point Pleasant Beach.

Weeks Marine of Cranford, NJ, has been working for months on a massive beach replenishment project to expand beaches from the Manasquan to Barnegat inlets. The work has been ongoing in Ortley Beach and Seaside Park, with sand pumped onshore from offshore dredging vessels.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineer’s dredging project has been underway all summer long in an effort to protect the beaches from another Superstorm Sandy type storm.