TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale Goes the Distance to Salvage Boats

The month of May was a busy time for salvage work on the East Coast of the United States. TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale was called to head up two tricky salvage operations, both involving boats that came to rest a long way from deep water. Crews were dispatched to St. Augustine, Florida in early May to extract a 48' Viking sportfish from a shoal located just outside St. Augustine Inlet. The boat which suffered extensive saltwater and interior structural damage while aground was delivered safely to a haul out facility at the end of a long day of rigging lift bags, dewatering and creating a deep water channel that allowed for efficient removal. The biggest challenges in this operation were the strong currents coupled with the powdery nature of the sand which caused the shoal to constantly shift throughout the day.

Minutes after the company's Sunken Vessel Recovery Unit and 1 ton truck were put to rest back in Ft. Lauderdale; a call came to salvage a 43 foot sailing vessel that was aground on the beach near Virginia Beach, Virginia. More specifically, the boat was located on the Eastern Shore of a little spit of land just northeast of the Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay named Smith Island. A team of 6 salvage professionals from TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale boarded a plane that evening bound for Norfolk. Equipped with limited salvage gear, the salvage crew pre arranged vessel, equipment and labor support from the staff of TowBoatU.S. Norfolk and TowBoatU.S. Virginia Beach. The Salvage Master devised a plan to strap the vessel, heel it over using lift bags and slide it across the beach to deep water. Deep water was over 2000 feet away necessitating a very long towing hawser and, due to the current; an expedient method for attaching the line to the casualty. Over 3000 feet of 2" line was used, and a 40' by 8" nylon strap was rigged low around the vessel and attached to a towing bridle. A Jet Ski was used to transport the bitter end of the towing hawser from the tug to the crew on shore; the crew quickly made the line fast to the bridle and gentle pressure was applied. After slowly increasing the amount of force to about 65% of the tugs capacity, the casualty began to slide slowly toward the sea. With the boat heeled over to reduce draft and associated drag, the boat slipped into deep water just before high tide as planned. The operation was a total success with very minimal damage to the vessel and her equipment.

TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale has successfully salvaged thousands of vessels since the company was founded back in 1989. Utilizing modern transportation and shipping methods along with a great network of partners worldwide, they can have crews and equipment to the most remote locations in very short order. For assistance with your most complex salvage cases, contact TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale, they are standing by 365 days a year awaiting the next challenge!