Tar balls roll up on Atlantic Beach shore

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Tar balls were seen on the shore of Atlantic Beach on March 31, apparently the result of a possible fuel leak from the Dublin Express cargo ship in the Arthur Kill waterway, a channel between New Jersey and Staten Island, officials said.

A swath of beach across from Genesee Boulevard by Anne Levey Way in Atlantic Beach had many of the tar balls on the sand and stuck to reeds or sea shells. One person described the tar balls as “squishy and gross.”

The Coast Guard, New York City police and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation inspected for potential impacts on the shoreline and waterways from Norton Point to Atlantic Beach.


Officials advise against touching the tar balls and other oily material. To report a sighting, call the Coast Guard at (718) 354-4553.