Cost to remove sunken barge in Fort Pierce Inlet: $2.6M

FORT PIERCE — The cost to remove a 110-foot barge that sank in the Fort Pierce Inlet in February rose to $2.6 million, and state officials determined the captain of the boat towing the barge violated two rules, according to records and officials.

Rodney Grambo, 54, of Middleburg, towed the barge behind a 54-foot boat Feb. 24 into the inlet. The 49-year-old barge was headed from Biscayne Bay to Darien, Ga. It had cracks, holes and leaks, and took on water as the boat struggled against an outgoing tide. The barge sank, and one of two men on it, Dominick Tortorice, 58, of Miami, drowned.

Removing the barge took several weeks, two contractors and various inlet restrictions, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As Army Corps officials worked with contractors to get the barge out, they said the cost was about $1.7 million, but spokesman Mark Ray in a recent email indicated it rose to about $2.6 million.

According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission final report and an official, Grambo was issued a citation related to not having a proper lookout and reckless operation of a vessel. This could carry a $500 fine and up to a year in jail, FWC Lt. Seth Wagner said.

On the 54-foot boat with Grambo was Charles Griffin, 34, of Middleburg, while Tortorice was with Reed Adams, 59, of Jupiter, on the barge.

John Tellam, 56, of Miami, owns the barge and “made no effort to recover his vessel from the inlet,” a report states.