LA PUSH, Wash. — Five people aboard a tug boat are breathing a sigh of relief after being pulled to safety by the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of La Push.
Around 4:10 p.m. on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard requested assistance from the tug, Luther, after it lost the ability to steer.
Luther was towing a 333-foot barge with cement and fuel on board when it lost steering.
With the weather battering the tugboat 10 miles from the coast of La Push, the call for assistance became an emergency when they began to take on water.
The Coast Guard sent a Motor Lifeboat (MLB), a helicopter and a rescue tugboat to help bring the Luther back to port.
To keep the boat from sinking, the crew of the Luther released the concrete barge.
Shortly after the Coast Guard arrived and prepared to tow the Luther, the loose barge began to float toward the crews prompting them to quickly get on the MLB.
As Luther’s crew was boarding the MLB, one of the crew members fell into the water but was quickly pulled on board.
Lauren Foss, the rescue tug boat, could not tow the Luther after one of its lines got tangled in its propeller.
Soon, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Atlantic Raven arrived with more U.S. Coast Guard crews to grab the Luther before it ran aground.
Luther was taken to Port Angeles and plans were being made to move the barge to a safe harbor after locating it hours after they lost sight of it.
According to the USCG, the barge is carrying 10,000 tons of cement mix and 1,200 gallons of diesel fuel and is a pollution threat but no sign of pollution was observed.
The USCG is working with the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Makah Tribe, the Canadian Coast Guard and commercial partners to bring the barge back to port.
All boats in the area were warned about the barge floating at sea.
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