U.S. Coast Guard air crews rescued at least 27 mariners from vessels that grounded or sank near Port Aransas, Texas during Hurricane Harvey in late August.
Casualties requiring rescues included the 4,400-hp tugboat Signet Enterprise, which sank on Aug. 26 after the drillship it was assisting broke free from its moorings during the storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. The drillship, DPDS1, grounded twice after breaking loose.
Three Higman Barge Lines towboats and six barges also broke free on Aug. 26. Sandy Point and Sabine Pass grounded near San Jose Island, just north of Port Aransas, while Belle Chasse sank in the Lydia Ann Channel. All 11 crewmembers on the three vessels were rescued.
Coast Guard Lt. Peter Schofield, who flew the MH-65 helicopter that rescued the Higman crews, recalled seeing barges “scattered” around the island.
“The tugs were right on the edge of the marsh, whereas the barges ... were pretty much in the center of this island,” Schofield said in a recent interview. “The barges themselves disconnected and might have drifted with the storm surge, then landed high and dry in the middle of this island.”
Higman spokesman Darrell Wilson said the three towboats were each paired with two barges and were moored near Port Aransas when Harvey hit.
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