(LAVALLETTE, N.J.) — A tugboat that grounded off Lavallette on Tuesday was freed about 10 hours later with the help of two other tugs and the incoming tide, the Asbury Park Press reported.
The four crewmembers on Sea Cypress were manning a sand pump for beach replenishment about four to five miles offshore early Tuesday when a mooring line snapped and got wrapped in the propeller, said Bob Tormollan, captain of the Lavallette Beach Patrol. Rough seas and high winds likely broke the line, Tormollan said.
The heavy onshore winds moved the disabled boat quickly toward the coast and it grounded at the Philadelphia and New Brunswick avenue beaches, Tormollan said. Both beaches were closed, but reopened after the tug was refloated.
He said the boat was was freed without damage.
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