Shark River Artificial Reef
Depth: 120-140 ft
The Shark River reef is tucked into a corner between the Mud Hole and the Barnegat shipping lane, which happens to be in close proximity to the wreck of the Stolt Dagali. It has a minimum depth for navigational purposes of 50 ft ( 8 fathoms ) at mean low water. Shark River is the deepest of all New Jersey reef sites, with an average bottom depth of 125 ft, although scour holes around larger vessels may be much deeper.
I have omitted the Redbirds from the chart, as they are no longer there. There were two clusters in the mud at the southern end of the reef, and one cluster atop the rock ridge at the northern end. Those are the cars in the pictures below.
Side-scan sonar animation courtesy of Army Corps of Engineers
This reef got off to a big start, with three tankers sunk in one day - the Coney Island first, and then the "twins" Sam Berman and Alan Martin. The Shark River Reef is often referred to as "The Parking Lot" by charter boat operators. In addition to the vessels shown, the Shark River Reef also contains a great deal of rock and rubble.
Side-scan sonar mosaic of the Shark River Reef, showing the partially-built rock ridges along the top, the Coney Island at lower right, and the massive Algol at the center, along with various other wrecks and concrete drops. The Captain Bart is visible just below the rock ridges, the APL-31 is NNW of the Algol, and the Alan Martin / Sam Berman duo is NW of the Coney Island. The tiny HRFA is just a speck among the concrete mounds, and the Mako Mania is visible south of the Algol.
Mosaic image courtesy of SAIC.
Not quite twins.
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker, sludge
- Built:
- 1938, Staten Island NY USA
- Specs:
- ( 250 x 40 ft )
- Sponsor:
- Crystal Oil Corporation, Marine Trades Assn. of NJ, Fisherman Magazine
- Sunk:
- Thursday September 10, 1987 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°06.285' -73°41.365'
- Depth:
- 125 ft, starts at 80 ft
More: Coney Island ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker
- Built:
- 1947, Brooklyn NY USA as Philip Lemler
- Specs:
- ( 160 x 30 ft ) 478 tons
- Sponsor:
- Crystal Oil Corporation, Marine Trades Assn. of NJ, Fisherman Magazine
- Sunk:
- Thursday September 10, 1987 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°06.440' -73°41.180'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
More: Sam Berman ...
- Type:
- shipwreck, tanker, Norway
- Name:
- Stolt is the name of the line that owned the ship; it translates "proud". Dagali is a mountain valley in Norway.
- Built:
- 1955, Denmark, as Dagali
- Specs:
- ( 582 x 70 ft ) 12723 gross tons, 43 crew
- Sunk:
- Thursday November 26, 1964 ( Thanksgiving day )
collision with liner Shalom ( 25,338 tons ) - 19 casualties - Depth:
- 130 ft, starts at 60 ft
More: Stolt Dagali ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tanker, US Navy ( YW-83 class / YO-65 class )
- Built:
- 1944, RTC Shipbuilding, Camden NJ USA, as YOG-58
- Specs:
- ( 174 x 33 ft ) 1390 displacement tons (full)
- Sponsor:
- GPPCBA, Crown Beer Distributors, Budweiser
- Dedication:
- Captain Bart Rozanski
- Sunk:
- Friday June 9, 2000 - Sea Girt Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°07.103' -73°41.479'
- Depth:
- 130 ft
More: Captain Bart YOG-58 ...
- Type:
- 250 "Redbird" subway cars - NYC Subway system - steel bodies / frames
- Built:
- 1959-1960 - American Car & Foundry - Model R26 # 7750-7859
1960-1961 - American Car & Foundry - Model R28 # 7860-7959
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R29 # 8570-8805
1962-1963 - St. Louis Car - Model R33 # 8806-9345
1963-1964 - St. Louis Car - Model R36 # 9346-9769 - Specs:
- ( 51 x 9 ft ) 15,000 to 18,000 pounds (body)
- Sunk:
- 50 cars - Cape May Reef on July 3, 2003
50 cars - Deepwater Reef on July 16, 2003
50 cars - Atlantic City Reef on July 25, 2003
50 cars - Garden State North Reef on Sept 3, 2003
50 cars - Shark River Reef on Oct 14, 2003
619 cars - Delaware Reef 11 from Aug 2001 to Nov 2003 - Sponsor:
- New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
- anti-
Sponsor: - Environmental group Clean Ocean Action lobbied aggressively and almost successfully to prevent the use of these subway cars as artificial reefs in New Jersey, resulting in most of the cars going to other states.
- GPS:
- too many to list, and all gone anyway
- Depth:
- Depths vary by location between 80 ft and 130 ft.
More: Redbird Subway Cars ...
- Type:
- artificial reef, tugboat, US Army
- Built:
- 1945 - Orlando CA USA, as ST-842, R.J. Wales
- Specs:
- ( 80 x 23 ft )
- Sponsor:
- Artificial Reef Association
- Sunk:
- Sunday July 27, 1997 - Shark River Artificial Reef
- GPS:
- 40°06.320' -73°41.855'
- Depth:
- 125 ft
More: Billy D ...
