Tugboat Sinks in Baltimore

A McAllister Towing tugboat sank on Saturday night off Baltimore’s Locust Point. There were no reported injuries, as everyone managed to abandon the vessel before it fully sank.

The tug reportedly hit an underwater object, and it started taking on water. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified; nearby tugs, including the Robert E. McAllister and Dann Marine Towing's Treasure Coast and Sun Coast, tried to assist the vessel initially but were unsuccessful.

According to the Baltimore Sun, efforts to pump water out of the tugboat faster than it was coming in failed and it sank at Pier 3, which is used by McAllister.

Any damage to the Kaleen McAllister has not yet been determined, but the submersion of the tug is not expected to interfere with any harbor operations or any port operations. It had 22,900 gallons of fuel and 710 gallons of oil onboard at the time of the sinking.

A small diesel fuel/lube oil leak was spotted following the sinking, so the incident site was boomed off to prevent any spreading. McAllister alerted an environmental cleanup firm it has on contract, Miller Environmental Group.

The current plan is to raise the tug and send it to a shipyard for repairs. The U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation into this incident.