Vandals Cause Navigational Hazard

Clay Head buoy number 7 pierced with bullet holes April 24, 2017, off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Patrick Morkis)

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis discovered a buoy sunk in the water with bullet holes this week near Block Island, Rhode Island.

The crew was conducting regular aids-to-navigation maintenance when they approached Clay Head buoy number 7 and found it submerged. The crew raised the 12,000-pound buoy and found 20 bullet holes in it.

Due to the extensive damage, this buoy was taken out of service for repairs. This aid to navigation marks a large rock three feet below the water’s surface. Ferries transit this route frequently and provide critical supplies to Block Island. Buoy number 7 is supposed to be a key navigational tool for mariners and turned into a navigational hazard.

This is the second aid discovered with bullet holes within a week.

“While it may be fun to use a buoy for target practice, it is a federal crime,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy Chase, the U.S. Coast Guard officer in charge of aids-to-navigation in the vicinity of Block Island. “Buoy number 7 became a navigational hazard that could have easily been struck by a vessel and seriously injured or killed mariners.”

Damaging or tampering with federal aids-to-navigation is a crime and the maximum penalties upon conviction are up to 20 years of imprisonment and as much as $2,500 fine per day for each violation.

Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis is a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in Newport, Rhode Island. The crew services more than 200 buoys annually in southeastern New England.

The Coast Guard encourages all boaters to contact them when a crime is witnessed.