A few days ago, we saw a blurb on the news about a cargo ship blaze at Port Newark which had tragically claimed the lives of two firefighters.

As major dad has spent time on numerous Navy ships and been through the shipboard firefighting course at 32d Street in San Diego, he’s always had tremendous respect – remembering the training with not a little shiver of dread – for shipboard fire crews when hearing about these breaking out, NTM the guts it takes to go in after them. It takes truly specialized training to do so safely and successfully. We were hoping that local fire department had access to that.

Two Newark firefighters lost their lives battling a fire in a cargo ship Wednesday.

Wednesday night, firefighters were called to Port Newark. Moments later, a mayday call was heard for both firefighters.

They were identified as Augusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks, Jr.

…The raging fire that consumed several levels of the cargo ship at Port Newark broke out shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“Firefighters struggled through intense heat and unimaginable conditions to try to extinguish a fire that had the potential to cause main or major damage to not just the cargo ship but impact the operation of the entire port,” Mayor Ras Baraka said Thursday morning.

The ship, flying under the Italian flag, carries over 1,000 vehicles. A source said the ship was loaded with used cars that were apparently headed overseas to be refurbished and sold.

The fire started on the 10th floor of the 12-story vessel and spread to the two above.

As fast as they lost them, it turns out they didn’t. Those brave guys were trapped in the inferno below decks almost immediately. Absolutely horrific. God bless them and may the good Lord hold them and their families close..

…”The Port Authority has a small crew that fights smaller fires. When they have structural fires, big fires of this sort, they always call Newark,” Baraka said. “There is no specialized unit Port Authority has.”

Jackson said it was a difficult fire to fight, in part because crews may not have been trained properly to handle the uniqueness of the vessel.

That was last Wednesday. The Coast Guard just announced yesterday – YESTERDAY – that the fire was “officially” out.

The cargo ship fire that killed two firefighters last week in Port Newark has officially been put out, U.S. Coast Guard officials announced Tuesday.

“At this time, those concerted efforts have gotten us to a place this morning where we can officially declare the fire is out,” Capt. Zeita Merchant said. “While this is a huge milestone and something that we can celebrate, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is merely the first step of a long process, as we now need to consider the salvage and transfer of the vessel, a process that can be hazardous and complex, as well.”

“Additionally, and more importantly, we are transitioning to a phase of determining the cause of the fire and related fatalities,” she added.

Yeah, and?

Well, it turns out this is going to be a much more interesting investigation that your average shipboard incident. Unbeknownst to me, it seems New Jersey law enforcement authorities can’t wait to crawl through the rubble thanks to activity that’s been heating up in the state over the course of the past year.

Stolen vehicles – no bigs, happens everywhere lately, right?

Yeah, but for some reason, NJ stolen cars wind up in West Africa.

Maybe take an Uber out to dinner if you live in NJ? Restaurant valet services seem to be a favorite target in some areas. Toss the kiddo the keys, and an hour later, woosh.

…”95 percent of those cars were destined to West Africa,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Steve Sapp.

Sapp says that is likely where Mazzocchi’s BMW was headed. Stolen from Bergen County, winding up more than 300 miles south at the Port of Baltimore in a shipping container – on Thursday morning it was seen still at the port.

“This is sort of like a revenue stream for transnational criminal organizations. They’re trying to create money whatever way they can and the business model they use is stealing cars, especially newer models, and then immediately shipping them out of the United States,” added Sapp.

It has been a long problem at the Port of Newark, which is now cracking down, leading criminals to head south.

In 2021, the Baltimore field office seized 95 cars – last year it skyrocketed to 239.

The fellow whose Bimmer in the story above was stolen was lucky – they found his vehicle before it shipped at the Port of Baltimore in a container. Lucky him. The only reason it went south was because they’ve been putting pressure on Port Newark and, including the fire, shipping out of there, while convenient, might be getting too warm for the thievery rings at the moment.

Monmouth County is one of the most targeted areas in the state when it comes to car thefts.

Law enforcement previously said that cars stolen in Monmouth are most often driven up the Parkway to parking lots at Newark airport and Elizabeth to “cool off” and remain hidden from police. After that, they are loaded onto container ships at the Port of New York/Newark, and shipped to West Africa, where they are re-sold.

And just this past Friday, March 17, Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari announced his team — working with federal agents — foiled a plot to ship 23 stolen cars from Newark to Togo, Ghana and Monrovia, all in West Africa.

They’re taking some primo suburban dweller vehicles, too.

Curiously, there were a lot of cars on the Port Newark vessel…the vessel that had been manifested as going to Africa. The authorities have 14K+ good reasons to get inside that hull once it cools down.

…Customs and Border Patrol officials said thousands of the vehicles stolen or carjacked in the tristate area are being illegally exported to Africa through various terminals located in and around the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Last year, 14,320 vehicles were stolen in New Jersey, according to the State Police. And car thefts are among the most difficult cases police handle, officials said, with fewer than 7% of stolen car cases resulting in an arrest.

Gottheimer said more national resources are needed to go after organized car theft rings, adding the “head of the snake is at Port of Newark, at the Port of Baltimore, and at ports globally, especially on the western coast of Africa.”

“Until we cut off the head of the snake, we will never truly succeed in shutting down this massive criminal ring,” he said. “We need more resources for broadband, more X-ray equipment, and more manpower for CBP and DHS at our ports.”

They’re also taking vehicles out of driveways – it seems there’s some sort of app that, when the thieves drive by, it will alert them if a fob has been left IN the vehicle.

…New Jersey State Police would not confirm if they were investigating the thefts as connected. Vehicle thefts are also nothing new. But what is new is the increasing use of sophisticated app technology by criminals to locate key fobs.

“In all of the stolen vehicles the keyless transmitter fob had been left in the vehicle,” Chatham police said. “Criminals are now using a new mobile app to find out whether you left your key fob in your vehicle. The app allows them to locate transmitter fobs up to 400 feet away.”

YOWSAHS

You can’t do anything about the guy who sticks a gun in your face for your ride, but for God’s sake, don’t make it any easier for them than it apparently is already. Note to everyone: LOCK THE DOORS AND DOUBLE-CHECK THAT YOU TOOK YOUR KEYS.

Good rule to follow wherever you live.