Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Tanker Dragged Ashore By Sandy Finally Hauled Away
By
Garth Johnston
Published Dec 12, 2012
Modified Dec 12, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Dec 12, 2012
Modified Dec 12, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The morning after Hurricane Sandy struck our shores, one of the first images that really emphasized the storm's intensity was that of a giant tanker on the Staten Island shore. Now, six weeks later, the tanker (technically the John B. Caddell) has finally been taken away. "It is a sad ending to what was a beautiful run," said Gary Cutler, co-owner of Poling & Cutler Marine Transportation. "She did a great amount of service and moved a whole lot of fuel in her day, and it's a shame this is the end of the road for her."
Since the storm, the Coast Guard and contractors have been combing the single-skin ship—which had essentially been sitting fallow since 2009—making sure she was free of any oil that could spill into the harbor. And while they did that they also tried, in vain, to find the ship's owner. "The Coast Guard has conducted an exhaustive search for the owner of the vessel. However no responsible party has been identified," Sara Romero, Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class with the Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response, told the paper.
So without an owner, the feds decided to just move her themselves. Yesterday morning at high tide the tanker, which once fueled ships during World War II, was moved to a Rossville scrap yard run by New Jersey-based Donjon Marine Company, which also moved the ship. Her fate is now up to Donjon, the Coast Guard and (if they are ever found) the boat's owner.
But just how does a ship that big just sit around without an owner? Good question! Like this:
After the war, until about 2009, the gasoline and heating oil tanker dutifully traversed the waterways of New York. It would fill up in oil terminal shore tanks, then deliver the product to smaller terminals in Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester and Nassau.
But its antiquated, single skin design was being phased out in this country after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and in 2009, the ship was sold to a Nigerian company, said Cutler, recalling the price to be roughly $175,000.
"It was gradually becoming obsolete -- in anticipation of her phase-out we have been replacing single skins with double hulled vessels," said Cutler.
The purchaser had intended to pilot the ship across the Atlantic to Nigeria and put her to use there, but his crew was stopped by the Coast Guard, concerned the vessel would not successfully make the trans-Atlantic journey. It has been moored in Rosebank ever since.
Tagged
coast guard
hurricane sandy
staten island
tanker
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .