Riverside Marine & Pickering crews knew they had about one hour during slack tide on Friday to try to and free the Benjamin Bailey tugboat that has been trapped underneath a Memorial Bridge project barge since Wednesday.
They brought in a sister tugboat, the Miss Creole, and tried three times to pull the Benjamin Bailey up to the surface. Two large airbags were also attached to the submerged tugboat by divers with Peperrell Cove Marine of Portsmouth, but it was to no avail.
By 12 noon, the crews realized the strong currents were returning and they until later to try again. The Miss Creole was left tied to the barge pier so she can be used to try and pull the Benjamin Bailey up again. Hopes were high that they would succeed on Friday. In addition to the two marine companies, The Drum Point tug from Moran Towing, the Coast Guard, the Portsmouth Fire Boat and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services boat were all present for the salvage operation.
A small crowd of Portsmouth area residents had also gathered to watch it unfold along the One Harbour Place dock. Carol Morris, a spokesperson with Archer Western Contractors, said the tugboats attempted to "pull the tug away from the barges and attempt to position it against the seawall slightly upriver of the barges so it can be raised and drained."
The Benjamin Bailey sank into the Piscataqua River on Wednesday after she took on water during the strong current and capsized within less than few minutes. The two-man crew managed to get off the vessel to safety, but Morris said no one knows yet what caused the accident. The Coast Guard will do an investigation when the tugboat is salvaged to determine what steps could have been taken to avoid it.