Delaware News

Famed ship Zuni/Tamaroa cleared by EPA, USCG to be sunk by Delaware and New Jersey as artificial reef addition

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | News | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 12, 2017



World War II-era ship set to go down on Del-Jersey-Land Reef

DOVER – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that the Zuni/Tamaroa, a World War II-era ship with a famed history at sea that continued into the 1990s, has been cleared by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Coast Guard for sinking onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Artificial Reef. Zuni/Tamaroa will be jointly sunk by the two states in the near future approximately 26 nautical miles from both Lewes and Cape May, N.J.

Both the EPA and Coast Guard recently inspected Zuni/Tamaroa at the Norfolk, Va. shipyard of contractor Coleen Marine. Extensive environmental preparation for reefing the 74-year-old vessel included removing interior paneling and insulation, and emptying and cleaning the vessel of all fuel and fluids. USCG approved the ship as fit for reefing on the Del-Jersey-Land site, which comprises military ships including the destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford, the longest ship reefed on the Atlantic Coast; the minesweeper Gregory Poole, and the Shearwater, which was in service for both the US Army as a freighter and the Navy as a support ship.

Jeff Tinsman, DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife reef program coordinator, said plans call for Zuni/Tamaroa to be reefed when a weather window of 48-72 hours for calmer seas allows for the ship to be towed up the coast and to the reef site. “We are certain that it will happen sooner rather than later,” he said. “Optimally, it would be right after the Easter holiday weekend. If that scheduling holds, anglers and divers should be working the Zuni/Tamaroa for recreational opportunities that she presents almost immediately.”

DNREC is the lead agency on the Zuni/Tamaroa reefing project, providing 75 percent of the funding from The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration program administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. New Jersey is providing 25 percent matching funds from The Fisherman Magazine’s Sportfishing Fund.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902
Lawrence Hajna or Bob Considine, New Jersey DEP Press Office, 609-984-1795

Vol. 47, No. 79

-30-

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Famed ship Zuni/Tamaroa cleared by EPA, USCG to be sunk by Delaware and New Jersey as artificial reef addition

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control | Division of Fish and Wildlife | News | Date Posted: Wednesday, April 12, 2017



World War II-era ship set to go down on Del-Jersey-Land Reef

DOVER – Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today that the Zuni/Tamaroa, a World War II-era ship with a famed history at sea that continued into the 1990s, has been cleared by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Coast Guard for sinking onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Artificial Reef. Zuni/Tamaroa will be jointly sunk by the two states in the near future approximately 26 nautical miles from both Lewes and Cape May, N.J.

Both the EPA and Coast Guard recently inspected Zuni/Tamaroa at the Norfolk, Va. shipyard of contractor Coleen Marine. Extensive environmental preparation for reefing the 74-year-old vessel included removing interior paneling and insulation, and emptying and cleaning the vessel of all fuel and fluids. USCG approved the ship as fit for reefing on the Del-Jersey-Land site, which comprises military ships including the destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford, the longest ship reefed on the Atlantic Coast; the minesweeper Gregory Poole, and the Shearwater, which was in service for both the US Army as a freighter and the Navy as a support ship.

Jeff Tinsman, DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife reef program coordinator, said plans call for Zuni/Tamaroa to be reefed when a weather window of 48-72 hours for calmer seas allows for the ship to be towed up the coast and to the reef site. “We are certain that it will happen sooner rather than later,” he said. “Optimally, it would be right after the Easter holiday weekend. If that scheduling holds, anglers and divers should be working the Zuni/Tamaroa for recreational opportunities that she presents almost immediately.”

DNREC is the lead agency on the Zuni/Tamaroa reefing project, providing 75 percent of the funding from The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration program administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. New Jersey is providing 25 percent matching funds from The Fisherman Magazine’s Sportfishing Fund.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti or Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902
Lawrence Hajna or Bob Considine, New Jersey DEP Press Office, 609-984-1795

Vol. 47, No. 79

-30-

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.