Boat runs aground on Thames River in Norwich

August 04, 2022 12:12 pm • Last Updated: August 04, 2022 5:21 pm

By Greg Smith
Day Staff Writer

A U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat - Medium from Station New London monitors the scene as a crew from the private tow company TowBoat US respond to a boat aground in the Thames River south of Norwich Harbor Thursday, August 4, 2022. The Norwich Fire Department and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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The Norwich Fire Department Marine One fireboat monitors the scene as a crew from the private tow company TowBoat US responds to a boat aground in the Thames River south of Norwich Harbor Thursday, August 4, 2022. The U.S. Coast Guard and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Responders from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, on shore, monitor the scene as a crew from the private tow company TowBoat US responds to a boat aground in the Thames River south of Norwich Harbor Thursday, August 4, 2022. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Norwich―A 38-foot boat ran aground early Thursday on a breakwater on the Thames River in Norwich.

The lone occupant of the boat was not injured.

The Norwich Fire Department responded at 6:13 a.m. to reports of a grounded boat taking on water. Firefighters, responding with two department boats, accessed the grounded boat from Coolidge Street, which is north of Trading Cove.

Norwich Fire Battalion Chief Greg Despathy said the boat appeared to have sustained some damage below the water line. With the help of a private towing service TowBoat US, Despathy said he expected the boat would be floated off the rocks at high tide.

Despathy said Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spill prevention officials placed booms in the water to contain any leaking fuel and a U.S. Coast Guard crew helped to pump out water from the boat.

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