A longtime marine engineer with New York City’s Bureau of Wastewater Treatment’s Marine Section died on May 24 when a boat that transports wastewater sludge from the city to a nearby treatment facility exploded.
The vessel exploded while docked at the North River Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility in West Harlem, killing Raymond Feige, 59, who had been with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for 33 years, the department announced in a Facebook post.
“The entire DEP family is grieving today,” announced DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala in a statement.
The explosion was likely caused by the ignition of methane gas from the sludge, DEP officials announced.
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The boat’s captain and two other crew members were taken to hospital and released the same day.
In a Facebook post, NYC Water called Feige a “respected engineer and a steady, beloved colleague” who loved being on the water.
“His bond with his shipmates and love of working on the water kept him committed to the fleet over the decades. He will be deeply missed,” the post stated.
The blast spread raw sewage over the deck of the boat, but officials said no environmental impacts were observed.
DEP stated that the boat was one of five vessels that routinely load sludge into the boat’s storage tanks to be transferred to another facility, where the sludge is 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,” officials noted in a statement.
