February 20, 2016
U.S. COAST GUARD//CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A tugboat lost power in rough seas Saturday, beaching the boat and the dredging barge it was pulling to a job off Ocean City, New Jersey. The two vessels remain aground on the Brigantine side of Absecon Inlet.
A tugboat towing a dredging barge to a job off Ocean City lost power Saturday in heavy seas off Atlantic City.
Swells of five to seven feet and winds of about 25 miles per hour beached the drifting tug and barge on the Brigantine side of Absecon Inlet. The inlet divides the island city of Brigantine from Atlantic City, the northern end of Absecon Island known as the Marina-district of the city.
Coast Guard Operations Specialist Katherine Zanickrowsky said a commercial salvage vessel would attempt to refloat the beached vessels Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m., at high tide.
She said the crew of the 77-foot tug, Miss Katie, remains aboard the vessel, which is aground on the southernmost beach in Brigantine.
The 135-foot barge, which was heading to the Great Egg Harbor Inlet, is unmanned, she added, pushed up against a rock jetty, not far from the tug.
No injuries or pollution were reported, according to the Coast Guard.
It appears the tug was involved in another grounding mishap five years ago in Texas also involving towing a dredging barge in high winds.
