Car removed from Norwich Harbor after 15 months

Norwich ― The car that had rested in 34 feet of water on the bottom of Norwich Harbor for the past 15 months is now gone.

Without fanfare or advance notice, a crew from Kennedy Diving and Marine LLC of New London latched onto the car Tuesday, inflated salvage bags around it, lifted it to the surface, and towed it to a nearby dock across the harbor. There, a crew from Northeast Towing & Transport LLC of Norwich hauled it away.

So ended a 15-month effort by Norwich Harbor Management Commission Chairman H. Tucker Braddock to find a way to remove the car from the bottom of the harbor at the mouth of the Shetucket River.

The white Volvo sedan, driven by Ulysses Blanco of New London, had careened down the cliff into the water June 1, 2023. Blanco, who was not injured, told police his brakes failed as he crossed through the intersection of Routes 2 and 12. Blanco climbed out unharmed and swam ashore.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the car could stay there, as it was not a hazard to navigation, and any fluids already had washed away.

But Braddock maintained: “You can’t park a car in the river.”

Early plans to remove the car fell through. A buoy attached by an early dive team that assessed the situation also seemed to have disappeared. But it actually was stuck on a snag about three feet below the surface.

Braddock persisted, arguing with Blanco’s insurance company, Farmers Insurance, that it was responsible to remove the car. The insurance company resisted.

“I told them, ‘if you had a car that crashed in the woods, you would have to take it out of the woods,’” Braddock said. “This is the same thing, only the car is in the river.”

The company finally agreed to pay. Braddock got two bids. Kennedy Diving and Marine President Patrick Kennedy Sr. offered to remove the car for $5,000, while the other bid was over $32,000, Braddock said.

On Tuesday, Kennedy’s team had planned to just dive down and create a plan to remove the car. But with conditions just right, they went to work.

“It worked out just like we planned,” Kennedy said Thursday. “Before this point, the current was too strong with all the rain.”

Kennedy’s son, Patrick Jr., dove to the site and found the car half buried in silt that had washed down from the Shetucket River. A tree, also washed downstream, was atop the car.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Kennedy Sr. said. “With all the stuff coming down the river, a tree could hit the diver.”

Currents stayed calm, and Kennedy Jr. rigged the car, attached the salvage airbag, secured a towline and surfaced.

Once he and his accompanying rescue diver got out of the water, Kennedy Sr. turned on the motor and inflated the bag. The vehicle rose as planned, floating just beneath the surface with the airbag on top.

The original plan called for it to be floated to the city boat launch at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, but that proved not feasible. Instead, Kennedy headed across the harbor to a privately-owned dock. There, Northeast Towing & Transport latched onto the car and the two companies lifted it onto the flatbed truck.

Kennedy Sr. gave credit to Northeast Towing & Transport, which offered to help get rid of the car at no cost. He called it a community service to have local businesses help the city with the problem.

Kennedy has been working on the Thames River for the past 30 years. He has helped haul out sunken sailboats and other debris but only recalled one other sunken car, that in the Connecticut River.

Kennedy’s firm is quite busy with other pursuits lately, working as the pilot boat assisting huge barges and cargo ships bringing wind turbine components to the newly rebuilt State Pier in New London.

He also carts provisions to ships waiting offshore for their turn to come upriver and assists the New London Maritime Society, owner of Race Rock Light, by ferrying society staff and supplies to the lighthouse at the mouth of the Thames.

Kennedy said his goal is to promote the Thames River for both commerce and recreation and hopes people from New London to Norwich come to appreciate the value of their waterfront.

And that includes making sure the river remains a no-parking zone.

c.bessette@theday.com