Police: Barge runs aground at yacht club

GUILFORD — A 250foot-long, 6,000-ton barge broke off from a tugboat moving through Long Island Sound during a storm Thursday night and crashed into the breakwater near a local yacht club.

And, no, police said, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.

In a Facebook post Friday morning, Guilford police said the barge broke free and ran aground at Sachem’s Head Yacht Club. Police said the U.S. Coast Guard would put together a plan to safely remove it.

Apparently, the tugboat Shelby, which was towing the barge, lost one of its two engines around 5:30 p.m. Due to high winds and seas, the tow line for the barge was caught up in the boat’s propellers. The crew decided to cut the line to the barge at 9:30 p.m., when the U.S. Coast Guard was notified, according to a spokesperson from the Coast Guard.

The barge drifted about 41⁄2 miles from the channel to the rocks later that evening, according to Petty Officer Ryan Schultz, Coast Guard public affairs specialist. .

Residents in the area reported they heard a “very loud banging,” said Guilford Police Chief Warren Hyatt. “As you can imagine — that big steel hull up against the rocks with the waves and the wind — like a big drum throughout the night.”

Police said those in the area could expect to see helicopters flying overhead throughout the day as crews work to remove the barge, which police said was empty. Since the barge was empty, police said there were no contamination threat.

The Coast Guard was overseeing efforts to remove the barge with the help of Week’s Marine with locations in New Jersey.

Guilford Police Department / Contributed photo A barge that broke free from a tugboat ran aground at Sachem’s Head Yacht Club in Guilford on Thursday.