NEAH BAY — The state-funded emergency response tug Hunter, stationed at Neah Bay, is towing a container ship to Tacoma today after responding to a call for assistance late last night.
The Hunter, another escort tug Garth Foss, and the disabled ship Horizon Tacoma are expected to arrive in Tacoma tonight.
The 712-foot container vessel requested the Hunter’s assistance Tuesday about 10:30 p.m. after it reported to the U.S. Coast Guard
Vessel Traffic Service that the ship experienced engine problems and elected to shut down its main engine a few miles north of Neah Bay.
The container ship had full use of its thrusters and directional navigation, and called for tug assistance as a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard and state Department of Ecology said this afternoon.
The Hunter arrived at the ship in less than 30 minutes and connected a tow line to the Horizon Tacoma.
Horizon Lines, which owns the container ship, promptly notified the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Seattle of the incident and requested permission
to proceed under tow directly to its Port of Tacoma destination, and contacted Ecology for assistance.
The tug Garth Foss met the vessels at Port Angeles this morning and is escorting the
Hunter and its tow.
The Horizon Tacoma was inbound from Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A repair crew boarded the Horizon Tacoma at Port Angeles at 7 a.m. to evaluate the damage and assist the ship’s crew in making repairs.
