A U.S. Coast Guard crew was conducting regular aids-to-navigation maintenance when they found a buoy submerged near Block Island, R.I. When the crew raised the 12,000-pound buoy on Monday, they discovered it was riddled with 20 bullet holes.
Clay Head buoy number 7 marks a large rock three feet below the water's surface and is supposed to be key navigational tool for mariners. Instead it turned into a navigational hazard on a route frequently transited by ferries providing critical supplies to Block Island.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis observe a submerged buoy in the water off Block Island on April 24, 2017. The Ida Lewis is a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in Newport, R.I. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Patrick Morkis)The crew from Aids-to-Navigation Team Bristol is underway for buoy maintenance off the coast of Newport, R.I., April 19, 2017. ANT Bristol maintains the waterways from Westerly, R.I. to Westport, Mass. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Nicole J. Groll)A buoy pierced with bullet holes, Monday, April 24, 2017, off the coast of Block Island. The buoy was found by the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis and the penalty for damaging or tampering with Federal Aids to Navigation is up to 20 years of imprisonment and as much as $2,500 fine per day for each violation. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Patrick Morkis)The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis observe a submerged buoy in the water off Block Island on April 24, 2017. The Ida Lewis is a 175-foot buoy tender homeported in Newport, R.I. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Patrick Morkis)The crew from Aids-to-Navigation Team Bristol is underway for buoy maintenance off the coast of Newport, R.I., April 19, 2017. ANT Bristol maintains the waterways from Westerly, R.I. to Westport, Mass. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Nicole J. Groll)A buoy pierced with bullet holes, Monday, April 24, 2017, off the coast of Block Island. The buoy was found by the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis and the penalty for damaging or tampering with Federal Aids to Navigation is up to 20 years of imprisonment and as much as $2,500 fine per day for each violation. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Patrick Morkis)
The buoy, which was extensively damaged and taken out of service for repairs 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.”
The maximum penalties for damaging or tampering with federal aids-to-navigation upon conviction are up to 20 years of imprisonment and as much as $2,500 fine per day for each violation.