Foundered shrimp trawler at Cape Hatteras National Seashore/NPS
A shrimp trawler broke up in the Atlantic Ocean's predawn darkness Monday and washed ashore at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, its three crew members rescued and taken to an area hospital.
Cape Hatteras rangers, members of the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad were called out just before 5:30 a.m. with a report of an overturned craft near Cape Point. The vessel, a shrimp trawler named Big John out of Wanchese, North Carolina, was found broken apart a half-mile north of Cape Hatteras National Seashore off-road vehicle ramp 49 near Frisco, North Carolina.
The three-person crew of the Big John were found alive and were taken by ambulance to the hospital for medical evaluations, a park release said. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
"Due to a large debris field created by the Big John, the beach between ORV ramps 48 and 49 is temporarily closed," park staff said. "The debris field contains nails, wood, and other potentially hazardous objects. Once the beach is cleared it will be reopened."
Debris from a broken-up shrimp trawler at Cape Hatteras National Seashore/NPS
Comments
I feel bad for the shrimpers but gratful for your article.
That is an impressive debris field for a shrimp trawler. I expected a couple of large pieces and then a bunch of little stuff, but that looks to be board by board, plastic piece by plastic piece.
Given the high high tides for the next days or 2 from the new moon, that's going to be a real mess to clean up before it disperses far up & down the beach.