- May 6, 2024
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The Tutahaca was lowered onto barge for its journey to Jacksonville to be decontaminated. Courtesy photo
A 500 ton crane was brought in to lift The Tutaha out of the Intracoastal Waterway in Ormond-by-the-Sea. Courtesy photo
The Tutahaca, a tug boat used during WW II, hung in the air on Friday June 2. A 500-ton crane lowered her onto a barge for the first leg of her final journey.
The tug boat was used by the U.S. Navy to push aircraft carriers out of harbors, but it was never a commissioned naval vessel. The National Maritime Historical Society researched and verified the tug boat did not have historical significance prior to the decision to scrap it.
Her former owner J. Gordon McCarthy, better known as “The Captain,” lived aboard the boat which was anchored in Ormond-by-the-Sea. McCarthy died in August 2014.
In February the boat began leaking oil into the Intracoastal Waterway and a containment boom was installed around the ship.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Luke Clayton said the boat will be taken to Brownsville, Texas for the final salvage, but first it will be taken to Jacksonville to be decontaminated of hazardous material.
“Brownsville was the only shipyard that would take it because of the contamination,” Clayton said. “The boat also contains asbestos, PCB and there’s a crude oil sludge still inside.”
After the decontamination process is complete The Tutahaca will be loaded onto an ocean faring barge, that can handle high seas, for the eight to 10 day to Brownsville. Brownsville is a large U.S. Naval military vessel salvaging community.
The Tutahaca was scheduled to leave for Jacksonville on Wednesday, May 7.
