The crew aboard a Tidewater Tug and Barge Lines vessel have received citations from the Coast Guard after they successfully secured a sternwheeler that had suffered a maritime casualty in the Columbia River.
The nearby good Samaritan tugboat Invader responded when the sternwheeler Portland lost steering and drifted in the river June 27 near Cascade Locks, Ore. The sternwheeler eventually ran aground near Bonneville Dam (See PM #118).
“The crew of the Invader secured the disabled Portland that was in danger of drifting into the Bonneville Dam lock system and towed the vessel to a safe moorage,” the Coast Guard said in a statement announcing the awards.
All 97 people aboard the Portland were rescued safely.
In October, the Invader crew was presented with the Coast Guard citations during a ceremony at the Tidewater Tug offices in Vancouver, Wash.
Coast Guard Capt. Fred Myer, the captain of the port of Portland, “praised the crew for their quick thinking and immediate action when dealing with the situation,” the Coast Guard’s announcement said.
Receiving citations were Invader master Jeff Baeker, pilot Joe Daley, deck mechanics Mike Tuthill and John Hill and Army Corps of Engineers Biologist Connie Grantwere.
