RedactedNarrative: 21 foot Sea Ray struck submerged dredge pipe and caused damage to transom of vessel. No injuries.  Operator stated that he was traveling southbound on the St. Johns River and headed into the inlet between Exchange Island and the Arlington River. He stated that he was traveling at an estimated speed of approximately 20 MPH at the time he made impact with what he later identified as a dredge pipe. He immediately slowed the vessel to a halt to observe what he may have struck, identifying that he had in fact struck the dredge pipe. Operator also stated that the dredge pipe was being marked with white ball buoys every 30 feet or so and was under the assumption that they were buoys marking local crab traps. The local water was strewn with commercial crab trap buoys of various colors and shapes.
  
   Operator then began to assess the damage to his vessel from the collision. He noticed that the motor mount that was attached to the transom had become separated partially near the upper bolts. He also noticed some fiberglass damage where the bolts had been stripped out of the fiberglass of the transom.  The dredge operator who was later identified as a supervisor for the operation stated that he had not witnessed any collisions with the dredge pipe. He also stated that he dealt with one prior a few weeks earlier and that collisions are likely as the pipe is between 2-3 feet underwater. The prior incident is listed under FWNC-17-OFF-1663. Healso stated that he has the pipe marked with buoys as well as having several lights for identification at night. He stated that the dredging operation was for a contract for the City of Jacksonville. 
  
   At the incident location I did not observe any other signs or markers identifying the submerged dredge pipe other than one post light and several white buoys along the length of the pipe.  It is my recommendation to have this case forwarded to USCG Waterways section for a follow-up with the commercial dredging company with regard to a violation of Navigation Rule 27. This is the second incident in the same location in the span of 3 weeks.