Two Rescued from Sinking Tugboat C-Pec on Mississippi River Near New Orleans

Posted in Louisiana Maritime News,Maritime Accidents,Tug Boat Accidents on July 12, 2013

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The U.S. Coast Guard closed the Mississippi River at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 6, after receiving reports that the 48-foot tug C-Pec was sinking near the town of Venice. Traffic on the river was shut down so that the Coast Guard could led a search for a sunken tugboat believed to have gone down in the middle of the river.

Photo shows location of the sunken tugboat C-Pec on July 6, 2013 near the town of Venice.

“Two people from the sunken tug were reported to enter the river and were rescued by a good Samaritan and transferred to the Coast Guard response boat and taken back to Station Venice,” the Coast Guard said in a news release. The names and condition of those rescued were not available.

According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Carlos Vega, 28 southbound and 22 northbound vessels were anchored and waiting for the re-opening of the river; and numerous others not yet in the area would likely be affected. One cruise ship bound for New Orleans was diverted to Mobile, Ala., and contingency plans were being made to do the same for another cruise liner that had been set to reach the city Sunday night.

Officials don’t know why the tug sank or exactly where but Vega said it was believed to have gone down in the middle of the river. Traffic in both directions was shut down from the mouth of the river to near mile marker 10. It was to remain closed until authorities could locate the tug and determine whether it was a navigation hazard.

The Coast Guard was trying to determine the ownership of the tugboat. The only information so far is from online records that indicate the vessel was owned by a limited liability corporation with a Belle Chasse, La., address, but the corporation was listed as inactive on the Louisiana Secretary of State website.

On Wednesday July 10, after a five-day effort to locate and surface the tugboat, divers were able to secure the tug with cable to a work barge. The following Wednesday, the tug was completely raised, water was pumped from it and it was towed away, according to an article at FoXNews.com.

Blog post by Louisiana maritime lawyer, Gordon, Elias & Seely.