The Mobro 4000 was a barge owned by MOBRO Marine, Inc. made infamous in 1987 for hauling the same load of trash along the east coast of North America from New York City to Belize and back until a way was found to dispose of the garbage. During this journey, local press often referred to the Mobro 4000 as the "Gar-barge". Voyage In 1987, the City of New York found that it had reached its landfill capacity. The city agreed to ship its garbage to Morehead City, North Carolina, where there were plans to convert it into methane. On March 22, 1987, the tugboat Break of Day towed the barge Mobro 4000 and its cargo of over 3,100 tons of trash. Chartered by entrepreneur Lowell Harrelson and Long Island mob boss Salvatore Avellino, it set sail on March 22 from Islip, New York, escorted by the tugboat Break of Dawn and carrying 3,168 tons of trash headed for a pilot program in Morehead City, North Carolina, to be turned into methane. While it was in transit, a rumor spread that the 16 bundles of trash that contained hospital gowns, syringes and diapers was a contaminant that affected the entire load. The barge was docked at Morehead City, until a WRAL-TV news crew, acting on a tip, flew by helicopter to the coast to investigate. Action News 5 Reporter Susan Brozek broke the story on the 6 p.m. news on April 1, 1987, and North Carolina officials began their own investigation, which resulted in an order for the Mobro to move on. As a result, the state of North Carolina refused to accept the waste. The barge then proceeded along the coast looking for another place to offload and continued to meet stiff resistance. After an 11-day delay, the Mobro made its way to its home port in Louisiana, but that state, too, declined the waste. Similarly, Alabama, and three other states, and the nations of Mexico, Belize, and the Bahamas refused the load. The Mexican Navy denied it entrance to their waters. It made it as far south as Belize, again being rejected before the operators abandoned the plan and returned to New York. Lowell Harrelson, the owner of the garbage, tried to negotiate for the Mobro to dock near Queens, whence the refuse would be carried back to Islip by trucks. Claire Shulman, the borough president of Queens, was