Blowtorch Used to Free Mariners from Sinking Tug in Sabine Pass

MarineLink March 31, 2023

Four crewmen aboard the Sea Cypress, a 71-foot tugboat, prepare to disembark the sinking vessel and climb aboard a Sabine Pilot boat at the mouth of the Sabine Pass Ship Channel in Texas, March 31, 2023. Two of the tugboat’s crew used a handheld torch to cut a hole in the partially submerged vessel’s bulkhead and free the two crewmen trapped in the galley. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Four mariners were rescued in dramatic fashion from a tugboat that was sinking in Sabine Pass, Texas, on Friday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector Houston-Galveston command center were notified at 5:38 a.m. that the crew of the 71-foot tug Sea Cypress hailed mayday on VHF-FM channel 13 and reported they were capsizing while moored near the mouth of the Sabine Pass channel.

Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Sabine.

Two of Sea Cypress crew used a handheld torch to cut a hole in the bulkhead and free two crewmen trapped in the partially submerged vessel's galley, an on-scene Sabine Pilot boat operator reported.

The Coast Guard boat crew arrived on scene, took aboard the four tug crewmembers and brought them ashore to Station Sabine.

Jefferson County EMS personnel assessed the four mariners and transported them to Southeast Texas Medical Center in Port Arthur, Texas, in stable condition.

"We are glad that the tugboat crew was able to think outside the box and that we were able to quickly get all four of them to safety," said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Ian Murray, search and rescue mission coordinator, Sector Houston-Galveston.