Whale Breaches Under Carteret Fire Dept. Boat In Raritan Bay, Sinking It

CARTERET, NJ — An incredible incident happened in Raritan Bay Saturday afternoon: A whale breached underneath a Carteret Fire Department boat and sunk the boat, according to Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman.

This happened at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4: The Carteret Fire Dept. boat was in the bay conducting a "special operation marine security detail," said the mayor. Tall ships from around the world left their anchorage in Sandy Hook and sailed into New York Harbor Saturday, and many New Jersey towns along the bay were providing extra security for the boat parade.

That's when a whale suddenly and violently breached (came up for air) directly underneath the boat.

This happened right at the mouth of the Raritan Bay, directly south of the Arthur Kill, which is the channel that runs between New Jersey and Staten Island.

The boat "was violently and suddenly struck under the stern by a surfacing whale," said the mayor.

The whale strike caused catastrophic damage to the boat. The boat immediately started taking on water and ended up sinking.

All firefighters aboard had to immediately abandon the boat within seconds of the strike, said the mayor. He said all the firefighters aboard were wearing life jackets and they were rescued by a recreational Jet Skier and someone in a nearby boat.

"A special thanks to the recreational jet ski operator and additional boater, as well as the Perth Amboy Fire Dept Marine crew, for fishing our guys out of the channel," said the mayor.

He said all the firefighters were safely accounted for and nobody was injured. He credited the firefighters' survival to the fact that all were wearing life jackets.

A nearby recreational boater had reported seeing a pod of whales periodically breaching the water both prior to and following the incident, said Reiman.

The condition of the whale is unknown, and it is also not known what type of whale it was.

This is not the first time in New Jersey that a whale has breached and capsized a boat: As recently as August 2025, a 20-foot whale breached in Barnegat Bay, hitting a boat and sending a woman overboard. She survived, but the whale, which witnesses say appeared to be in distress before breaching, died.

And in 2020, a humpback whale surfaced in the ocean off Seaside Park and hit a 25-foot fishing boat, sending the two people on the boat into the water. The two fishermen were able to swim to shore. The whale also died in that incident as well, and ended up later washing ashore on a beach.