A blowtorch was used to extricate sailors from the sinking tugboat

Four crew members aboard the Sea Cypress, a 71-foot tugboat, prepare to abandon the sinking ship and climb aboard a Sabine Pilot boat at the mouth of the Sabine Pass Ship Channel in Texas March 31, 2023 Hand lamp to cut a hole in the partially submerged ship’s bulkhead and free the two crew members trapped in the galley. (US Coast Guard Photo)

The US Coast Guard said its sentry guards at the Houston-Galveston Sector Command Center were informed at 5:38 a.m. that the crew of the 71-foot tugboat Sea Cypress Mayday saluted on VHF channel 13 and reported that they were capsizing , while mooring near the mouth of the Sabine Pass Canal.

Watchmen issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a 45-foot strike boat medium crew from Coast Guard Sabine.

Two Sea Cypress crew members used a hand lamp to cut a hole in the bulkhead and free two crew members who were trapped in the partially submerged vessel’s galley, a Sabine Pilot’s boatman at the scene said.

The Coast Guard boat crew arrived on site, took the four crew members of the tug aboard and took them ashore to Station Sabine.

Jefferson County EMTs evaluated the four sailors and transported them in stable condition to Southeast Texas Medical Center in Port Arthur, Texas.

“We’re glad the tug crew was able to think outside the box and that we were able to get all four to safety quickly,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ian Murray, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, Houston-Galveston Sector.