A mysterious boat spotted in New Jersey waters has sparked a federal investigation to unveil the vessel’s origins.
The 32-foot 1984 Bayliner cabin cruiser landed by the head of the Shrewsbury River in Sandy Hook on Monday morning, authorities told the Asbury Park Press.
Several people reported seeing the boat floating through the frosted-over Sandy Hook Bay – unmanned with damage to its port side and mooring line – over the weekend.
Authorities finally got involved Monday at around 10 am when a law enforcement ranger was called to the abandoned vessel washed up on the shore near the Gateway National Recreation Area.
The National Park Service (NPS) and the US Coast Guard are working together to get to the bottom of the unattended New York-registered cruiser called the ‘Linda T.’
‘There is an open investigation into the circumstances of the vessel’s grounding,’ NPS spokesperson Daphne Yun told the Asbury Park Press.
‘The National Park Service is working with the U.S. Coast Guard to safely remove the vessel.’
Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Sydney Phoenix told the outlet: ‘Though there has been no pollution reported from this vessel yet, our primary focus is removing any threat of future pollution of oil or hazardous substances to the marine environment now that the vessel is aground in the sand.’
‘First drones, and now ghosts ships. I love NJ!,’ One man said, reacting to the bizarre discovery on Facebook.
The Sandy Hook boat investigation comes several months after an enormous $250 million superyacht was spotted in the San Diego harbor.
Although this discovery did not spark any federal involvement, it certainly caused a stir online – with Redditors speculating about where the boat came from and who owned it.
The luxury boat had already been docked for months, when one Reddit user posted a photo of it and asked if anyone knew anything about it.
The user claimed the massive vessel was worth millions and could accommodate 12 passengers.
But his fellow Redditors were quick to piece together the information, identifying the 388-foot ship as the Liva O, which was built by renowned shipbuilder Abeking & Rasmussen last year.
It is equipped with two 2200 kW electric propulsion motors, as well as two 2240 kW Caterpillar main generators and three 599kW Caterpillar auxiliary generators, the ship builder announced at its launch.
Among its many amenities is a so-called Neptune lounge, which offers an underwater view, a 12 x 4 meter pool, a fully-certified helicopter lounge and a large marble-clad fireplace.
‘I wanted this boat to be timeless, elegant, pure, thine, classic, contemporary with a large amount of outdoor space to be immersive with the surround landscape,’ designer Joseph Dirand said.
‘This is exactly what I see when I look at it today – the black hull is really spectacular and looks completely monolithic.’
Another Reddit user claimed that the ship is owned by Stephen Orenstein, whose father founded the Supreme Group – an overseas supplier of food and fuel for defense forces during wartime.