TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale
Recovers Cable in Port Everglades

During the early morning hours of July 25th 2008 a 240 Meter tanker entered her berth in Port Everglades. Once the vessel was made fast to the berth it was discovered that a 3" diameter cable was entangled and hanging from her port bow anchor. The shipping agent was notified and TowBoatU.S. Ft Lauderdale was called into service to free the cable from the ships ground tackle. TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale's Director of operations, Kevin Collins immediately dispatched one of the company's 31' twin diesel tugs and a 100 ton crane to the scene.

TowBoatU.S. personnel worked in concert with the Port Everglades Harbormasters office, Port Everglades fire marshal and Broward Sherriff's office to develop a recovery and disposal plan that was acceptable to all parties noting that the operation was to be performed within a high security area of the port in a petroleum berth. The crane was rigged to the cable and the ship lowered the anchor to within 5 feet of water level. The ships anchor was spun using the tug's push knee which freed the cable from the anchor fluke allowing the recovery process to begin. The remainder of the operation involved taking small bights of cable and hauling it ashore with the crane.

In the end, an estimated 2000 feet of 3" galvanized cable weighing over 16,000 pounds was hauled ashore and disposed of eliminating a possible hazard to navigation. The operation was a complete success and the ship was able to lighter and sail on schedule.