Towboat Capsizes on Houston Ship Channel, Killing One Crewmember

On Friday, a small towboat capsized and sank in the Houston Ship Channel, killing one crewmember. 

At about 1400 hours on Friday afternoon, the 55-foot towboat Miss Peggy capsized at a position near the Lynchburg Ferry crossing on the Houston Ship Channel, prompting a large multi-agency response. Several Good Samaritan boats were near the scene and quickly rescued four survivors from the water. 

One crewmember remained missing, and the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated a search together with the Harris County Sheriff's Department and the Houston Police. Law enforcement divers helped with a subsurface search effort. 

After a wide-ranging SAR operation spanning more than 30 hours, the deceased crewmember's body was recovered. The operation transitioned to salvaging the towboat. 

"I'd like to thank the good Samaritans that sprang into action . . . when the incident happened. They're really the lifesavers that get the credit for saving those four mariners," Coast Guard Commander Michael Cortese told local media. 

The vessel was successfully raised to the surface and righted using a large crane barge over the weekend. The cause of the casualty is under investigation, but early indications from AIS data and bystander accounts suggest that the Miss Peggy was being overtaken by a 63,000 dwt merchant bulker at the time of the casualty, and may have been involved in a collision. As of Monday, the merchant vessel in question remained moored at a coal terminal in Houston.  

Miss Peggy is a 55-foot inland towboat built in 1976. Her current operator is a fleeting and shift boat company on the Houston Ship Channel.