Portsmouth Tugboats Move Tanker Away from Bridge

Two Moran Towing tugboats successfully piloted a large tallow oil tanker away from the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge on Monday evening after it had crashed into the bridge earlier in the day and caused some yet unknown damage.

The tugboat pilots positioned the vessels near the bow of the Harbour Feature of Madeira, Portugal before slack tide arrived at 5:30 p.m. and slowly, but sure maneuvered the tanker away from the bridge.

The tanker was originally tied to the New Hampshire State Pier after picked up its cargo of tallow oil used to make soap and other cooking oil products upriver in Newington and was being refueled when a mooring line broke. The strong currents caused the vessel to swing around and crash sideways into the bridge just before 1:30 p.m.

According to Bill Boynton, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation's public information officer, a team of engineers will now assess the damage caused by the tanker. As the tugboats moved the tanker away from the bridge, some damage guardrails the upper portion of the ship had struck were visible. Coast Guard First District Public Information Specialist Adam Stanton in Boston said the impact also damaged the bridge operator's house that controls the middle lift span. Boynton could not say on Monday afternoon how long the bridge would remain closed to motor vehicle traffic.

What follows is a video showing how the Moran Towing tugboats moved the tanker away from the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge.