Mv. Tom Frazier Partially Sinks On Ohio River

All nine crewmembers were safe, and no environmental damage was reported following the partial sinking of the mv. Tom Frazier on February 10 at Ohio River Mile 355.1, near Portsmouth, Ohio.

Divers were on-scene to make repairs on February 11, and the 15 empty barges in the tow had been recovered, according to Petty Officer Third Class Anthony Randisi, a public affairs specialist with U.S. Coast Guard District 8. He said the Tom Frazier was successfully refloated and taken to drydock with the assistance of a good Samaritan vessel.

Randisi said the mv. Tom Frazier is owned by ACBL Vessels Inc. and operated by McNational Inc. Photos showed the vessel with Excell Marine markings.

The Inland River Record showed that the Tom Frazier is a twin screw, 6,140 hp. vessel built in 1979 by Jeffboat.

The cause of the partial sinking remained under investigation from the Coast Guard. The barges detached from the towboat, and the towboat began taking on water, flooding the engineroom, Scioto County Emergency Management Director Larry Mullins said.

The boat had come from Paducah and was on its way to South Point, Ohio, he said.

The towboat came to rest about one-half mile upriver from the U.S. Grant Bridge, which carries U.S. 23 traffic between Portsmouth and Greenup County, Ky., Mullins said. The barges also drifted against the bank nearby but were still all tied together. Another boat had recovered them within a few hours of the event, he said.

Mullins reported that the initial distress call from the boat was routed to the Coast Guard’s Louisville office, which called the Scioto County 911 dispatch center. That office immediately got on a conference call with the 911 dispatch center in Greenup County, Ky., as Kentucky owns most of the Ohio River. The Kentucky center alerted nearby fire departments that own boats.

The mv. Debi Sharp was in the area of the Carl Perkins Bridge, about a mile away, and immediately launched its yawl to rescue crewmembers. With the help of firefighters, the crew was safely evacuated.

Valley Township Fire Department Station 3 reported in a February 11 Facebook post that teams from both Valley and Rosemont fire departments responded with boats and that Washington Fire Department unlocked gates at the landing near Portsmouth Raceway Park and set up scene lights. The South Webster Fire Department was also enroute with a boat at that time.

The Scioto County Swift Water Rescue Team deployed, while Rosemount firefighters checked on a neighboring boat, which was staying out of the way of all the activity. Portsmouth Fire Department and crews from Portsmouth Ambulance and EMT-Ohio were also on-scene.

Mullins said there were no leaks from the partially sunk towboat, but that environmental remediators from HEPACO’s Ashland, Ky., office placed a protective boom around it as the vessel had nearly 72,000 gallons of diesel on board. HEPACO was able to successfully pump out the vessel, he said.

River Salvage was given priority lockage February 12 on a southbound trip from Pittsburgh, Pa., with salvage equipment being brought to Portsmouth to recover the Tom Frazier. Mullins reported that the boat was removed from the shoreline the morning of February 13.

Mullins said the rescue and recovery operation showed considerable cooperation between multiple agencies in Kentucky and Ohio at the state and local levels, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and industry professionals, and he wanted to thank all of those who assisted.

Caption for photo (click on image for full photo): A protective boom was put in place around the mv. Tom Frazier following its partial sinking. No one was hurt, and no environmental damage was reported. (Photo by Steve Griggs)