Coast Guard investigating tug sinking and pollution near Pittsburgh

High winds and waves swamped a towboat on the Ohio River in West Virginia earlier this month.

The Coast Guard received a distress call from the Sam S. just after it went down mid-afternoon at mile marker 39.5 near the town of Chester.

The vessel’s pilot went in the water briefly before being picked up by a nearby towing vessel and no deaths or injuries were reported.

A sheen was reported coming off the sunken vessel which reportedly carried 500 gallons of fuel. The owner, Georgetown Sand and Gravel, was said to be making efforts to contain pollution. The towboat was not a threat to navigation because it sank outside the navigation channel.

Source: U.S. Coast Guard