Body of Missing Tugboat Captain Found off Montauk Point

Posted in Tug Boat Accidents on May 7, 2012

A body found floating off the coast of Montauk on Saturday has been identified as the captain of a U.S.-flagged tugboat who went missing in April near Newport, R.I., according to the USCG.  
Brendan O’Leary, 48, was captain of the New York-based 91-foot tugboat Steven-Scott and reported missing by his crew on April 25th approximately 9 miles south of Newport, R.I. while towing a barge filled with jet fuel from Long Island to Boston.

O’Leary was presumed to have fallen overboard, prompting the USCG to launch a search-and-rescue operation.  Unfortunately the search did not turn up anything and was called off after about a day.  Reports at the time said that winds were blowing up to 25 miles per hour and waves were cresting up to 6 feet when O’Leary went missing.

The Coast Guard said O’Leary may not have been wearing a life jacket when he fell overboard.  He was found floating about four miles south of Montauk Point just before 11 a.m. Saturday by a group on a charter fishing boat.

If you find yourself injured while working aboard a tug, you want a well versed tugboat injury lawyer to be working with you so that you can get the care and compensation you need.