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Courtesy PhotoU.S. Coast Guard District 1 |
BOSTON —
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of a tug collision that
occurred about three miles south of Kennebunk, Maine, early Thursday,
and monitoring the site where one of the stricken vessels sank.
One
of the two crewmen aboard the 40-foot tugboat Helen Louise alerted
Coast Guard watchstanders Wednesday that their vessel collided with the
80-foot tugboat Capt Mackintire while they had it in tow. The Capt
Mackintire had no crew aboard.
A
response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor, in New
Hampshire, and the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark, homeported in
Boston, deployed to assist.
Once
on scene, the Station Portsmouth Harbor boat crew confirmed there were
no injuries to the two-man tug crew. The Coast Guard then escorted the
tug Helen Louise, with the two people aboard, into Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, where it safely moored.
The
Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark established a tow with the tugboat Capt
Mackintire, with intentions to bring the boat into Portland, Maine.
While
in transit to Portland early Thursday, the Capt Mackintire began taking
on water, forcing the crew to cut the towline where it sunk in about
158 feet of water.
The
Coast Guard is working with federal, state, and local authorities to
evaluate pollution potential and respond to reports of sheening in the
area where the tug sank.
The investigation is ongoing.
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