Salvage of the PRO ASSIST III - Key West Salvage Master Rethinks a Refloat Plan

Puller Reinforcement Brackets welded to the stern of the JMC-144// Soportes de refuerzo del extractor soldados a la popa del JMC-144

Chain Pullers Get the Tough Job Done

AUTHORS

Mandy Miles & Gordon Olson

GCO Logistics / Key West Harbor Services

THE SINKING

The tug was sinking and going down fast. It was Christmas Eve 2020, and the three-man crew aboard the U.S.-flagged tug, PRO-ASSIST III, had to abandon ship in 40 feet of water just off the coast of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Call it a Christmas miracle, or the goodwill of the maritime community, but local fishermen acted swiftly after being alerted to the casualty by an American Tugs dispatcher. They arrived to rescue the crew just as the tug was slipping beneath the waves.

The PRO-ASSIST III contained 1,100 gallons of fuel and the standard amount of lube oil for a vessel of her size with two main engines. On Christmas Day, the tug’s owner, American Tugs Inc. (ATI), hired Key West Harbor Services to consult and develop plans for fuel removal and vessel salvage. ATI also took initiative to deploy local divers to plug the fuel vents, assess the vessel’s condition, and record a video survey of the situation. Initial findings revealed that the PRO-ASSIST III sank in a very rough area outside the Port of Yabucoa, where its position exposed the casualty to constant easterly trade winds. Once the vessel’s fuel vents