Waterford ― A spokesman of the Massachusetts firm that owns the barge that was initially believed to be stuck on the muddy bottom of the Thames River on Monday, clarified Tuesday that it was not the barge but the tugboat pushing it that got stuck.

David Tranchida of Quinn & Hary Marketing/Public Relations, which provides communications for Cashman Dredging and Marine Contracting, said the 240-foot Mighty Quinn, which Cashman is using for a dredging project at Electric Boat for the past month, requires a tugboat to move it.

Tranchida said the tug Arctic Dawn, which was moving the barge, ran aground, meaning the barge could not move for three hours as the two vessels sat about a quarter-mile north of the Naval Submarine Base off Bartlett Point in the Quaker Hill section of town.

Tranchida said the Mighty Quinn was empty when its tugboat got stuck. When empty, it only draws three feet, he said.

Tranchida said the barge was that far up the river because it was undergoing maintenance in Ledyard and was on its way back down the river.