May 29, 2025

On May 24, 2025, at approximately 10:20 a.m., an explosion occurred onboard a DEP Marine vessel docked at the agency’s North River Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility.

Chief Marine Engineer (Diesel) Raymond Feige, who joined DEP in 1991 and spent his entire career in the Marine Section, was killed in the explosion. The boat captain and two other crew members on board were both taken to the hospital to be checked out and were released the same day.

Preliminary fact-finding suggests the explosion was likely caused by an ignition of methane gas, which is emitted from sludge (partially processed liquid waste material). No sludge was released into the river and there don’t appear to be any environmental impacts.

DEP is committed to the safety of its staff and the public at large. A preliminary safety assessment by DEP determined there are no immediate risks to safety on other vessels. We are cooperating fully with all investigations, including the U.S. Coast Guard and NYS Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH), and will incorporate any necessary changes into our normal operations based on any future findings.

The boat, the “Hunts Point,” is one of five vessels in DEP’s Marine Section that routinely load sludge into the boat’s storage tanks to be transferred to another DEP facility, where the sludge is then dewatered and further processed.

Since 1938, DEP has had a longstanding history of safe transportation of waste material. Our sludge boats operate 365 days a year, and this explosion is the first of its kind.