A tug, barge and crew boat all went aground on a beach near Little Creek Inlet, Virginia. The vessels had been working on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel when they received notice that a storm was approaching. The vessels headed back to the port, but the storm reached them first. The vessels were pushed ashore onto a sandy beach. All vessels were refloated the next day and taken to Little Creek Inlet. No reports of injuries, damage or pollution being released. The Coast Guard is conducting an investigation into the incident.
The 220 dwt tug Courbet was headed for Lagos from Rotterdam with two vessels under tow, the 90 meter long Vestland and 109 meter long Atlantic Trader. The Courbet had radioed that it had problems with the two vessels. The Vestland and Atlantic Trader were not designed for ocean travel, but were designed as powered canal boats. When the trio were in the Bay of Biscay, they ran into stormy conditions. The Vestland was empty and riding badly in the storm. The Courbet changed course to meet with the salvage vessel Abeille Bourbon in an attempt to keep the Vestland afloat. However, the seas were too much and the Vestland broke-in-two off Penmarch, France. The bow section was taken under tow by the Courbet while the Abeille Bourbon secured the stern section. An hour later the stern section was unable to keep afloat, and sunk in 2000 meters of water. The bow section stayed afloat until the next night when it sank. The fate of the Atlantic Trader has not been reported, but it did not have an AIS, Automated Identification System, on board and will be difficult to track. Various reports state there was no pollution released, but one states there was 7 metric tons of fuel in its bunkers. Three men were reported to be on board the Vestland when it broke-in-two. The men were rescued by the Courbet. No reports of injuries.
More Photos of Aries rescue at http://jgp1.com/tugaries
More Photos of Aries rescue at http://jgp1.com/tugaries
The 68-foot tug Aries sank in the Bering Sea east of St. Paul Island. The tug was towing a barge when the crew discovered the vessel was taking on water. The weather was rough with 11 foot waves and 30 mile per hour winds. The tug’s crew contacted the Coast Guard that they were in need of assistance. The Coast Guard dispatched a HC-130 Hercules airplane which reached the scene to see only the barge afloat. The crew of the Aries had transferred over to the barge before the tug sank. A Coast Guard helicopter arrived a few hours later and hoisted the 4 crewmen off the barge. They were safely taken to St. Paul Island. The Aries sank with 29,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board. Reports state there is a visable oil slick. Authorities have deployed vessels to handle environmental issues and to see if the tug could be salvaged. The reason for the Aries sinking has not yet been determined.
The Aries is a Gulf Coast style tug built in 1980 in Gibson, Louisiana. The vessel was recently refurbished in Seattle before being leased to C & K Marine from Olympic Tug & Barge, Inc. of Seattle.
More information on the Aries and Rescue at the Bitterend Blog
