It's Not Just Keansburg Fishing Pier: Frozen Raritan Bay Is Uprooting Pilings In Many Marinas

KEANSBURG, NJ — It's not just the Keansburg fishing pier: Marinas all along Raritan Bay are witnessing their wooden pilings uprooted by ice.

"The ice is freezing around the pilings," said Gary Carr, who owns multiple fishing shops along Raritan Bay, including Fishing Flea Market Bait & Tackle in Keyport and Keyport Bait & Tackle. "As the high tide comes in — and we just had a full moon two days ago — the water level rises four to five feet. It's literally pulling the pilings out of the ground. The next high tide keeps pulling them more and more out of the ground. So if it doesn't thaw out, the pilings just keep getting pulled out."

That's exactly what happened to the Keansburg Fishing Pier, a beloved local fishing spot that extends about 2,000 feet into Raritan Bay. At midday Tuesday, the portion of the wooden pier that's farthest into the bay collapsed; see video of the damaged pier here. Carr shared this photo of the damage: https://www.facebook.com/photo...

"It's not just the Keansburg pier," he said. "There are marinas up and down the coast that are worried this is going to happen to them next."

"I would say every marina in this area is going to have repercussions because of this ice," said John DeSilvestri, the owner of Keyport Marine Basin. He too has had some pilings uprooted by ice, he said Wednesday.

"I just called a company to come out and look at it," he said. "The last time I saw the bay this frozen was in the '70s, '80s. It's just Mother Nature. We won't know how bad the damage is until it all thaws."

The ice on Raritan Bay is so thick this winter that Seastreak canceled its ferry service out of Highlands and Atlantic Highlands. It is still running limited ferry service from Belford, where they are using a tugboat as an icebreaker. Competitor NY Waterway had to cancel some ferry routes from South Amboy and is substituting with buses. NY Waterway also has an ice-breaking boat.

And with temperatures expected to plummet back down to the single digits this weekend, don't expect Raritan Bay to unfreeze anytime soon.

"Highlands Marina is worried," said Carr. "People are asking what's gonna happen to the Navy Pier (in Middletown); we think that will be OK. But it may get worse in the next full moon phase coming up in two weeks. We're not gonna be out of this for a month."

"I'm 50 years old and I've never seen (the bay) frozen like this," said Carr. "I've seen it skim over in past winters, but nothing like this. The last time I saw the bay frozen like this was photos from the 1920s."

The Keansburg fishing pier is owned by the Gehlhaus family, the same family that owns Keansburg Amusement Park. A woman named Kathi Smock manages the pier, a job she took over from her father. She told News 12 Tuesday she plans to rebuild.

"I hope they do," said Carr. "It's a great local staple."

Seastreak ferry commuter John Tachine provided this video of frozen Raritan Bay on Jan. 30, 2026: