Tibor ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Tibor

Type:: artificial reef, tugboat
Built:: 1957, Somerset, Massachusetts, as Dick Perini
Specs:: ( 45 x 14 ft ) 21 gross tons
Sunk:: Thursday June 29, 2023 - Barnegat Light Artificial Reef
GPS:: 39°45.792' -74°01.191'

Built in 1957, by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset, MA as Dick Perini. The tug was later acquired by Chelsea Fuel Transportation Company of East Boston, MA (a subsidiary of Boston Towing and Transportation of East Boston, MA, A subsidiary of the Reinauer Transportation Company of Staten Island, NY) where she was renamed Heidi. In 2014, the tug was acquired by the Eastern Towboat Company of Boston, MA, where she retained her name. She was a single screw tug, rated at 160 horsepower.

It was also part of the Nautical Museum in Toms River for many years where it went into a state of disrepair.

Something you don't often see - the builder's plaque

Tugboat Sunk Off Jersey Coast for Artificial Reef

Phil Stilton
Shore News Network
July 11, 2023

TOMS RIVER, NJ - The artificial reef off the coast of the Jersey Shore has a new addition, a 1957 tug boat that was sunk last week. The reef consists of surplus military vehicles, concrete structures, tires, armored personnel carriers, tanks, weighted tires and barges.

On June 29, the NJFW Marine Resources Administration’s Artificial Reef Program successfully deployed the 45' Tibor tug on the Barnegat Light Reef Site. Originally constructed in 1957, the Tibor tug served as a coastal tug in the vicinity of New York Harbor. Subsequently, it was housed at the Nautical Museum in Toms River for several years, during which it fell into disrepair.

Last year, Tibor Heteny, the owner of the vessel, generously donated it to the NJ Artificial Reef Program, specifically for its use as artificial reef habitat. The donation was gratefully accepted, and the Artificial Reef Program collaborated with Kurt Deyback at the Lighthouse Point Marina and Yacht Club in Toms River to ensure that the vessel fulfilled the requirements outlined in the artificial reef guidelines for reefing vessels.

https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2023/07/11/tug-boat-sunk-off-jersey-coast-for-artificial-reef