Benjamin Bailey Freed from Memorial Bridge Barge

Dozens of Portsmouth area residents watched in awe Saturday as the hull of the Benjamin Bailey tugboat surfaced a few feet away from the Memorial Bridge barge where it had been stuck since Wednesday.

As the tugboat surfaced, it appeared like a small whale that was raising its back as water sprayed around it. The large air bags were used to help Riverside Marine & Pickering crews from Eliot, Maine to raise the tugboat, which belongs to that company.

The marine company had worked during slack tides on Thursday and Friday to raise the tugboat, but it wasn't until their third try on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. that they were able to free the vessel.

The tugboat was away from the barge so airbags and lines could be used to pull the bottom of the vessel to the surface.

A Clean Harbor crew then sprang into action to lay down a large perimeter of oil booms to capture the hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel that was visible in the Piscataqua River from the Prescott Park pier and gave off a strong fuel smell.

According to Archer Western Contractors officials, the Benjamin Bailey will remain secured to the new Scott Avenue Bridge approach for the next few days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on Monday. Eventually, it will be fully salvaged so the Coast Guard can complete its investigation into why the vessel sank on Wednesday.

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.