WWII ordnance found in Cape May forces ferry return to Lewes
A Cape May-Lewes Ferry boat heading from Lewes to New Jersey on the evening of April 28 was forced to turn around and dock back in Delaware after unexploded World War II ordnance was found in a Cape May canal.
Delaware River and Bay Authority spokesman Jim Salmon said the ferry MV Delaware, with 70 passengers onboard, had to return to the Lewes ferry terminal for the night.
The Coast Guard shut down the New Jersey canal as a precaution until daylight.
Salmon said the DRBA reserved hotel rooms for some passengers, while others chose to drive to their destinations.
He said employees had to be called in to berth the ferry in Lewes between 11 and 11:30 p.m.
A bomb squad from Atlantic City was sent to deactivate the ordnance in the Cape May canal.
The Cape May-Lewes Ferry was cleared to resume sailing at 10:30 a.m., April 29.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
