N.J. Stat. tit. 12, ch. 4

N.J. Stat. tit. 12, ch. 4
in effect

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-1 § 12:4-1

Any person may remove, with as little detriment to the owners of the lands as is possible, all trunks and limbs of trees and like obstructions which hang over or in any way interrupt the navigation of any river or creek in this state.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-2 Destroying or removing buoys and other markers; penalty

A person who shall carelessly, willfully or wantonly destroy, mutilate, break, remove or interfere with any buoy, beacon, channel pole, marking or other device fixed and established in any navigable water in this state and under the control of the laws of this state, by means of physical force or by running into the same carelessly, willfully or wantonly while operating a ship or boat of any description, or in any other manner avoidable, shall be liable to a penalty of fifty dollars to be recovered in the manner provided by article 6 of chapter 7 of this title (s. 12:7-24 et seq.).

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-3 Owners of docks, wharves and piers may collect wharfage, dockage and rent; no hindrance to navigation

The owners or holders of all docks, wharves, storehouses and piers may: a. Use, possess and repair the same; b. Lay any vessel alongside the same; c. Demand, receive and sue for and recover of and from any vessel or person using the same, reasonable wharfage, demurrage, rent or dockage; and d. Recover for any damage done to the same. This section shall not impair the legal rights of any other persons or authorize any hindrance to navigation.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-4 Ice boats to keep Delaware river open

L.1920, c. 69, p. 121 (1924 Suppl. s.s. 139-13a, 139-13b), entitled "An act authorizing the acquisition, maintenance and operation by the state of New Jersey, in conjunction with the state of Pennsylvania, of ice boats to keep the Delaware river open for navigation," approved April fifth, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, saved from repeal. [Authorizes a commission of this state in conjunction with a commission from Pennsylvania, to operate and maintain ice boats to keep the Delaware river open to navigation between Trenton and Philadelphia.]

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-5 Boats or barges sunken or stranded in navigable river; notice to remove

Whenever a boat, barge or scow is stranded or sunk in any of the navigable waters of this state and left remaining for a period of thirty days by the owners or persons having the same in charge, the board of chosen freeholders of the county within the bounds of which the boat, barge or scow is sunken or stranded shall, on written notice to them by six freeholders residing in the county that such boat, barge or scow is obstructing the free navigation of the river, investigate the same. If in the opinion of the board of chosen freeholders the boat, barge or scow does or is likely to obstruct the navigation, they shall give notice to the owners or persons having the same last in charge, if their residence is known, that the boat, barge or scow is a nuisance and must be removed within thirty days thereafter. If their residence is unknown, public notice shall be given to the like effect by advertising the same in any newspaper published and circulating in the county where the barge, boat or scow may lie.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-6 § 12:4-6

If the boat, barge or scow shall not have been removed at the expiration of said thirty days, the board of chosen freeholders may declare it a public nuisance and forfeited to the state and cause the same to be removed either by contract or otherwise. They may sell the wreck and cargo at public auction or otherwise to defray the expense of removal, or they may agree with the contractor removing the boat, barge or scow that the same, together with the cargo, shall form the whole or a part of the compensation of the contractor for the removal thereof.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-7 Costs and expenses of removal; payment by county; reimbursement

The cost of removing the sunken or stranded boat, barge or scow, with the incidental expenses and charges connected therewith, shall be made up and certified by the board of chosen freeholders. Upon such certified account the county treasurer shall pay the same out of any money not otherwise appropriated and shall certify said account to the Division of Navigation of the Department of Conservation and when approved by the navigation council, the amount thereof shall be reimbursed to the county out of any funds appropriated to said department for said purposes out of the State treasury. Amended by L.1947, c. 37, p. 112, s. 1, eff. April 2, 1947.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-8 § 12:4-8

Any surplus obtained by the sale of the wreck and cargo over and above the costs and expenses of removal, in any one instance, shall be paid into the state treasury.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-9 § 12:4-9

The amount to be paid out under and by the provisions of this article, either by the county or the state, for the removal of any one sunken or stranded boat, barge or scow, shall not exceed one thousand dollars.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-10 Deposit of solids in certain waters prohibited; fishing rights and discharge of sewage excepted

No person shall throw or deposit or cause to be thrown or deposited any solid material of any kind into or upon the navigable waters of the Kill von Kull, Arthur Kill or Staten Island sounds, Newark bay or tributaries, Raritan bay or tributaries, New York bay and harbor, or the Hudson river, within the jurisdiction of this state, unless authorized so to do under the laws of this state or of the United States. This section shall not apply to or affect the right any person has or may have to fish, by putting in poles or otherwise, to plant shellfish and fix and preserve the boundaries to any land he may be entitled to use for such purpose, or interfere with the emptying of sewage into the same by any city.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-11 § 12:4-11

Any person violating the provisions of section 12:4-10 of this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in any county bordering on any of said waters within which the violation occurred, shall, in addition to the costs of prosecution, for the first offense be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, and for each subsequent offense by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars and imprisonment not exceeding six months.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-12 Seizure by pilotage commissioners of vessels used in violations

The commissioners of pilotage appointed pursuant to section 12:8-1 of this title or any one of the commissioners may seize any vessel found within the jurisdiction of this state and from which any person is violating the provisions of section 12:4-10 of this title, and take the same to the nearest port for which pilot service was established by chapter 8 of this title (s. 12:8-1 et seq.). Said boat shall be kept until the owner shall deposit the sum of two hundred dollars, or give security satisfactory to the commissioners for the payment of any fine and costs which may be adjudged for such violation.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-13 § 12:4-13

The commissioners of pilotage shall prosecute all violations of this article.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-14 § 12:4-14

All fines collected by the commissioners of pilotage under this article shall constitute a fund in the hands of the commissioners to pay the necessary expenses of carrying the same into effect.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-15 § 12:4-15

Nothing in this article shall interfere with the powers, rights, duties and privileges of the board of commerce and navigation.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-16 Approaching, passing and opening drawbridges; injuries to; penalties

Any person who shall: a. Having command of a vessel, come within ten rods of a drawbridge without first lowering his sails so as to prevent the vessel from coming against the bridge until it is opened so that the vessel can pass through without doing any damage to the bridge; or b. Having command of a vessel, make fast to or lay a vessel alongside of a drawbridge or of any wing thereof or in the draw thereof, for the purpose of loading or unloading, or for any purpose whatever except of passing through the same; or c. Open a draw and keep it open more than fifteen minutes, when not absolutely necessary for a passage of a vessel through the same; or d. Cut, remove or destroy any timber, planks, posts, piles or stonework belonging to or a part of a drawbridge, or otherwise willfully damage or do any act which may have a tendency to injure the bridge or draw-- Shall be liable to a penalty of not less than twenty dollars nor more than fifty dollars, besides all damages that may be done to the bridge.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-17 Recovery of penalties

12:4-17. The Superior Court and every municipal court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine actions for the recovery of penalties under R.S.12:4-16. All such penalties shall be enforced and collected under "the penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.), and the process shall be a warrant. A commitment for failure to pay a penalty shall be to the county jail for a period of not more than twenty days. All penalties recovered under this section shall be paid to the county treasurer for the use of the county. Amended 1953, c.12, s.8; 1991,c.91,s.218.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-18 § 12:4-18

Every officer having charge of a vessel lying at anchor in the Delaware river shall show from sundown until sunrise, a light at some conspicuous part of the vessel, at least ten feet above the deck. For every violation of this section the officer having charge of a vessel shall be liable to a penalty of ten dollars to be recovered by any person who shall sue for the same.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-19 Collision of navigating vessel with anchored vessel showing light; liability for damages

When a vessel navigating the Delaware river shall collide with a vessel lying at anchor and having a light on board as required by section 12:4-18 of this title, the officer having charge of the vessel so navigating the river shall be liable to the owner of the vessel lying at anchor for all damages sustained by reason of the collision. Such damages shall be sued for by the owner of the vessel so lying at anchor and the officer having charge of the navigating vessel shall be debarred from recovering any damage he may have sustained from the collision. The officer serving the summons or other process may seize and keep in custody the vessel which collided with the vessel at anchor, to abide the judgment of the court, at the costs and charges of the party offending, but such party may have the vessel released upon giving satisfactory security to the court before whom the action may be brought.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-20 Lights on steamboats; penalty

Every officer having charge of a steamboat navigating the Delaware river shall show, from sundown until sunrise, a light suspended by a staff or pole in the extreme forward part of the steamboat, at least ten feet above the deck, and also a light suspended in the same manner at the extreme after part of the steamboat, at least twenty feet above the deck. For every violation of this section the officer having charge of the steamboat shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars to be recovered by any person who shall sue for the same.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-21 § 12:4-21

No person in charge of a vessel shall willfully come to or lie at anchor in the channel of Raritan bay northwesterly from Keyport dock in Monmouth county for the distance of six hundred yards, which channel shall be three hundred feet in width and marked by stakes or buoys in the middle or on either side thereof.

N.J. Stat. § 12:4-22 § 12:4-22

Any person violating section 12:4-21 of this title shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars for each offense and also to any damages sustained by the person injured thereby. For every twenty-four hours a vessel shall lie at anchor in said channel, an additional penalty of twenty dollars may be recovered. One-half of the penalty shall go to any person who shall sue for the same and the other half to the county treasury.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026