A prominent shipwreck explorer and husband of one of New Jersey’s top attorneys died during a deep-sea diving expedition.
Joe Mazraani, 47, suffered the emergency on July 29 while diving to the shipwreck of “The Big Engine Steamer,” 200 miles offshore on the eastern edge of Georges Bank, according to his company, Atlantic Wreck Salvage.
His cause of death was not revealed at the time of the company’s announcement.
However, they stated that a full investigation is ongoing and currently have “no reason to suspect diver error or equipment failure.”
“Joe Mazraani was larger than life. He was kind, compassionate, and generous. A mentor and a student, a friend, brother, son, and partner,” Atlantic Wreck Salvage shared.
“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.”
Mazraani co-owned Atlantic Wreck Salvage with his wife, New Jersey Public Defender Jennifer Sellitti. He was also a criminal defense lawyer by trade.
Sellitti said she was on the boat when her husband died.
Atlantic Wreck Salvage shared a final photo of Mazraani at the bow of D/V Tenacious, the boat he used for exploration and historical marine salvage, before his death.
Mazraani was born in Lebanon and immigrated to the US when he was 15, according to his company’s website.
In the mid-90s, he became a certified diver and “quickly took to diving sunken wrecks off the Northeast US coast and instantly developed an obsession with exploring the sunken hulks that litter the approaches to New York Harbor.”
“Shipwreck exploration is a way of life for Joe,” his bio reads.
“He is president of Atlantic Wreck Salvage and operates the dive vessel ‘Tenacious,’ which was specifically acquired and outfitted to accomplish several projects, including locating and exploring U-550 and other deep, uncharted wrecks in the North Atlantic,” his bio reads.
Mazraani also led the expeditions to the famed “Italian liner SS Andrea Doria and has dived the wrecks of HMHS Britannic, sister ship of Titanic, and RMS Lusitania.”
The beloved captain was inducted as an associate member of the Boston Sea Rovers — a non-profit organization dedicated to marine conservation and education.
The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender paid tribute to Mazraani on Friday following his death.
“With deep sadness, we share the loss of Joe Mazraani, beloved partner of Public Defender Sellitti and a cherished member of the legal and diving communities,” the office wrote on Facebook.
“Joe was larger than life: fearless, kind, and deeply committed to justice. Our hearts are with the Public Defender and his loved ones.”
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