It's a Crowded Place With Some of the City's Trickiest Traffic

New York Harbor is packed with competing traffic—jet skis, ferries, tankers, barges, and smaller charter and sailboats—and safety rules can be inconsistently followed, mariners say. The concern has intensified after a mother and her 5-month-old daughter died when an overloaded charter boat capsized near the Statue of Liberty. Union officials and charter owners describe the harbor as chaotic, citing novice boaters who may not understand deep channels, tidal currents from the Hudson and East Rivers, or right-of-way requirements near large commercial vessels. A federal criminal complaint says the operator lacked the license to carry more than six commercial passengers; court records say there were 14 aboard and the infant had no lifejacket. Coast Guard investigators are ongoing.