Liftboat Surveying Sunken Fishing Boat Off Point Pleasant Beach

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — An unusual vessel offshore of Point Pleasant Beach that drew the attention of onlookers Tuesday was on the scene surveying a fishing trawler that sank in November, authorities said.

Christian Zimny, project manager for Northstar Marine Services of Cape May, said the boat, called a liftboat, was being used by the company to check on the status of the Susan Rose, the 77-foot fishing trawler that sank in November.

Crews were trying to remove the boat from where it ran aground in Point Pleasant Beach when it filled with water and sank not far from the beach on Nov. 19.

"We are doing a survey dive to see the condition of the boat," Zimny said Wednesday.

The liftboat was used because it provides a more steady, secure platform for the divers to work from, he said.

"It's the safest way for the divers to dive on it," Zimny said.

A liftboat, also called a jack-boat, a lift barge or a jack-up barge, is a "self-propelled, multi-purpose, self-elevating vessel," according to the Offshore Fleet website.

A liftboat, unlike a regular barge, can move from place to place on its own rather than waiting for a tugboat to move it. The legs lower to the sea floor at about 14 to 18 feet per minute, and the deck raises, or jacks up, as well.

Zimny said the survey dives were expected to be completed by the end of the day Wednesday.

It's not clear when the Susan Rose might be salvaged from the sea floor.

The Asbury Park Press had reported Northstar Marine was handling the salvage operation in November. The trawler was scheduled to be towed to a shipyard in Tottenville, Staten Island, where it was to be removed from the water.