A 56-foot fishing boat that ran aground near Caesar's Pier in Atlantic City has been towed back out to sea.

The high tide at 6:52 p.m. allowed the Coast Guard to float the Jessica Heather off the beach where it had been sitting since 11 p.m. Sunday night.

Tom Foley, Atlantic City emergency management coordinator. tells the Press of Atlantic City the ship's captain fell asleep.

The Coast Guard says there's no sign the boat was posing a threat to the environment. Coast Guard Lieutenant Tim Feese told WPVI TV, however, "there were 1000 about a thousand gallons of diesel on board. We want to make sure the contractor who is removing the vessel does so as safely as possible so there is no harm to the environment."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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