Burglary charged aboard NOAA mapping ship in New Castle

NEW CASTLE — A Nashville man has been charged with stealing money and various items from a New Castle-based ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Anthony Christopher McCauliff, 35, faces two felony counts of burglary and a felony charge of theft by unauthorized taking for allegedly taking items from the crew aboard the Ferdinand Hassler. The 123-foot-long ship maps coastal waters to update nautical charts along the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, according to NOAA.

McCauliff was indicted by a Rockingham County grand jury this month.

The first burglary count against the Tennessee resident, a Class A felony, alleges he entered the dwelling of an unidentified person upon the Ferdinand Hassler “without license or privilege to enter, with the purpose to commit the crime of theft therein.”

The theft by unauthorized taking charge, a Class A felony, accuses McCauliff of taking money “and/or” a Dell tablet, U.S. currency, a keyboard, a card reader, a power supply, a key card, a government pay card and a wallet from the Ferdinand Hassler's crew. The “aggregate value” of the property combined was in excess of $1,500, the indictment states. The second burglary charge, a Class B felony, alleges McCauliff “entered a separately secured (area) of a ship, to wit, an office on the Ferdinand Hassler, without license or privilege to do so, while the office was not open to the public, and with the purpose to commit the crime of theft therein.”

The three charges state his alleged actions occurred in New Castle “on or about” Feb. 5, 2023.

A spokesperson for NOAA did not answer questions about McCauliff's involvement with the ship and the allegations against him.

“While we are aware of the incident, we cannot comment on any potential pending legal actions,” said Keeley Belva of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations in a statement.

Court records do not list an attorney for McCauliff. It was not immediately known if he has a lawyer.

Prosecutor John Goodlander did not immediately return a request for comment.

The NOAA ship was commissioned in 2012 after being built in Mississippi. The Ferdinand Hassler's commanding officer is William Winner, per NOAA.

What is the Ferdinand R. Hassler ship?

“NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler maps the ocean to aid maritime commerce, improve coastal resilience, and understand the marine environment. NOAA's Coast Survey uses data collected by the ship to create and update the nation's nautical charts with ever-increasing data richness and precision,” NOAA states. “The ship's side scan sonar collects imagery of the sea floor, which can identify obstructions or wrecks that could be navigational hazards. The sonar emits sound waves in a swath, which generates a detailed image of objects on the seafloor.”

“The ship is one of NOAA's most valuable assets following a severe weather event or ocean emergency. Even before she was officially commissioned in 2012, the ship was deployed in response to a U.S. Coast Guard request for assistance following Hurricane Irene,” NOAA adds. “The ship conducted hydrographic surveys around the clock in Hampton Roads, Virginia, applying its state-ofthe-art assets to looking at seafloor changes, searching for underwater hazards that would pose a danger to ships, and helping to restore port operations to full capacity.”

The ship's namesake, Swiss immigrant and surveyor Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, was the first superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey.