Barge Loaded With Fuel Runs Aground in Ft. Point N.H. Outside Portsmouth Harbor

Posted in Barge Accidents,New Hampshire Maritime News on November 8, 2013

FT. POINT, N.H. — A barge loaded with diesel fuel that ran aground in Ft. Point N.H. outside Portsmouth Harbor late Tuesday, November 5, is being assessed for damages. According to the Coast Guard reports say there is no leaking from the vessel, which was carrying 80,000 barrels of low-sulfur diesel.

 Map shows location where a fuel barge ran aground on a shoal near the harbor entrance at Fort Point in Portsmouth Harbor, NH on November 5, 2013.

Map shows location where a fuel barge ran aground on a shoal near the harbor entrance at Fort Point in Portsmouth Harbor, NH on November 5, 2013.

The U.S. Coast Guard said, a tugboat moving the barge, which was carrying 80,000 barrels of low-sulfur diesel, was maneuvering to start pushing from the stern, when the barge drifted into a shoal. The grounding happened off Fort Point at the entrance to the harbor

The coast Guard said that nobody was injured and it appears there was no serious damage to the double-hulled barge and no fuel leaked. The barge was able to be moved off the shoal and berthed where it is expected to offload its cargo.

The captain of the tugboat, the Mediterranean Sea, was given drug and alcohol tests as required. The alcohol test was negative and the drug test results are pending, the Coast Guard said.

Source: The Portland (Maine) Press Herald


Blog post by barge injury lawyer Gordon & Elias, LLP