‘A Life Of Adventure’: NJ Shipwreck Diver Dies In Offshore Diving Incident

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — The Jersey Shore community is remembering the life of Captain Joseph Mazraani after he died in a diving-related incident on the eastern edge of Georges Bank at the end of July.

Mazraani, 48, of Millstone Township, died on July 29 during a dive to a shipwreck his team called “The Big Engine Steamer,” Mazraani's Point Pleasant-based dive vessel D/V Tenacious announced on Friday.

While officials said they are choosing to keep the details of the incident private, the vessel said they currently have no reason to suspect that diver error or equipment failure led to Mazraani’s death, and said all indications point to a medical emergency.

A full investigation into the incident is ongoing, authorities said.

In the vessel’s online tribute posted by Mazraani's partner and Atlantic Wreck Marketing Director Jennifer Sellitti, the crew described Mazraani as someone who was “larger than life.”

“He was kind, compassionate, and generous. A mentor and a student, a friend, brother, son, and partner,” Sellitti said. “Whether motoring aboard D/V Tenacious, diving into deep and dangerous water, or defending his clients in court, Joe demanded the best of everyone around him. Sometimes he demanded it grumpily — but he always demanded by example.”

“I loved Joe fiercely, and he loved me back just the same,” Sellitti continued. “We were partners in everything — especially this.”

Since childhood, Mazraani has been fascinated by the sea, its creatures and the underwater world, according to the Atlantic Wreck Salvage website.

While growing up in Lebanon, Mazraani spent his summers by the Mediterranean before he immigrated to the U.S. at 15 and became a certified diver in the mid-90s.

Mazraani quickly took to diving sunken wrecks off the Northeast U.S. coast and developed an obsession with exploring sunken hulks that litter the approaches to New York Harbor, the website said.

In addition to operating the D/V Tenacious, Mazraani was also the president of Atlantic Wreck Salvage and a criminal defense attorney by trade. He has led expeditions to the famed Italian liner “SS Andrea Doria” and dived the wrecks of HMHS “Britannic” (sister ship of “Titanic”) and RMS “Lusitania.”

In March of 2020, Mazraani was inducted as an associate member of the Boston Sea Rovers, a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of the marine environment.

“Some will say exploration like this is not worth the risk. If viewed in isolation, perhaps it isn’t. But this wasn’t just a dive. It was our way of life,” Sellitti said. “Joe understood better than anyone that life offers no guarantees. He lived every moment fully, without compromise.”

“He did not want to die doing what he loved — none of us do,” Sellitti continued. “He wanted to survive it, to grow old doing it. But when you live at the edge, sometimes the edge pushes back.”

While Sellitti said the loss of Mazraani is still too raw for the team to make decisions about the future of D/V Tenacious, they are keeping their page and website open for now because they chronicle not just Mazraani's life, but also their crew and adventures of the last 15 years.

Though the team doesn’t know exactly how yet, Sellitti also said the space will be part of how they carry Mazraani’s work and legacy going forward.

“Joe was larger than life: fearless, kind, and deeply committed to justice,” the NJ Office of the Public Defender said in an online tribute to Mazraani. “Our hearts are with the Public Defender and his loved ones.”

“Joe Mazraani was always kind, supportive and generous. He led a life of adventure that many of us would only dream about,” NJ State Senator Vin Gopal said. “My heart breaks for my friend Jenn Sellitti. May Joe's memory and incredible accomplishments continue to be a blessing and inspiration for all he came across.”

In their tribute post to Mazraani, Sellitti shared one of the last photos taken of him on the bow of D/V Tenacious, which the crew described as “his happiest place.”

“It’s important to remember that this is exactly where he wanted to be,” Sellitti said. “200 miles from shore; the ocean smooth as glass; and people he loved right out there with him. Remember him this way."