71-year-old Tug Sinks off Puerto Rico
Three people were rescued from a 71-year-old tugboat that sank south of Puerto Rico on Thursday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector San Juan fielded a mayday call from the crew of the 112-foot U.S.-flagged tug Proassist III, stating they were taking on water approximately two miles south of Yabucoa Harbor.
A good Samaritan embarked the three people from the 1949-built tug and took them ashore with no reported injuries.
On Friday, a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen helicopter crew observed a sheen beginning approximately .25 miles east of Yabucoa that extends 1.5 miles to the southwest with a width of 1.5 miles. The tug is reported to have approximately 1,100 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
NOAA said the Coast Guard requested a trajectory and oil fate prediction forecast.
Sector San Juan Incident Management Division personnel are working with the tug's owner to develop a salvage plan that includes removing all diesel fuel from the vessel.