Cargo ship, fishing boat collide off Jones Beach

The Coast Guard is investigating how a 625-foot-long cargo ship and a 72-foot fishing boat collided off Jones Beach early Friday in clear weather.

The weather was calm - visibility was 10 nautical miles, wind nine knots and wave height was just two feet - when the cargo ship Baldor and the fishing vessel Atlantic Queen collided at 3:30 a.m. 11 miles south of Jones Beach, Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said Friday.

One crew member aboard the Atlantic Queen was injured - though Rowe said the injuries were not life-threatening. No one was injured aboard the Baldor, a 30,000-ton bulk carrier cargo ship registered in the Marshall Islands.

The Atlantic Queen, which makes its home port in Rhode Island, lost 15 feet of its bow, the Coast Guard said. It was awash as of noon Friday and was in danger of sinking.

The Coast Guard, New York Police Department and Nassau County police harbor units all responded. It was unclear what kind of cargo the container ship was carrying.

Rowe said the Baldor had just left New York Harbor when the accident occurred.

The Coast Guard said the investigation into the cause of the crash is continuing and findings likely would not be released for some time.