Coast Guard Rescues Three from Sinking Tug

A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Port O'Connor rescued three men off the sinking tug, Charles Alfred, May 27 in San Antonio Bay, approximately six miles south of Seadrift, Texas.The crew of the Charles Alfred contacted the Coast Guard at 9:25 p.m. and reported that they were sinking. Two boat crews from Station Port O'Connor, Texas, and a helicopter crew from Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, responded. The three crewmembers were safely rescued from the tug and taken to Station Port O'Conner.The Charles Alfred was towing a barge, carrying 9,700 barrels of cyclohexane, alongside when it began to sink. The barge is keeping the tug from completely sinking. Both are in shallow water and are not blocking any ship traffic. The tug had the capacity of carrying 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel, some has leaked into the bay and created a sheen.Crews from Coast Guard Marine Safety Satellite Office Port Lavaca, Texas, and the Texas General Land Office are on scene overseeing the clean-up and recovery process. Miller Environmental and Carry Construction have been hired to clean-up any pollution and recover the tug. A containment boom (floating curtain) has been placed around the tug and barge to prevent the diesel sheen from spreading. The tug is no longer leaking fuel and the barge remains undamaged and stable. The clean-up continues.The crewmembers from the Charles Alfred are; Roy Pena, 46, from Rockport, Texas, Larry Krogsgaard, 32, from Rockport and Arnold Smith, 36, from Ingleside, Texas. The Charles Alfred is homeported in Houston.