SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (Feb. 25, 2014) — A tug boat that has been tied at the docks of the Michigan Maritime Museum was found to have sunk Sunday.
South Haven Assistant City Manager Paul VandenBosch took a video of the sunken tug Wilhelm Baum and posted it Monday.
The tug is not owned by the museum but by Jim Bradley, said museum executive director Patti Montgomery.
Bradley visits the tug frequently and had been clearing snow from it on Saturday. He returned Sunday morning around 8 a.m., and it was still afloat. When he returned to the dock five hours later, the tug was sunk, said Montgomery.
The cause of the sinking is unknown, and the incident must be reported to the Coast Guard, other authorities, and to insurers, as the process of recovery.
Montgomery described conditions in South Haven harbor for raising the tug as “challenging,” but, she said, “we’re are really hoping it can be saved.” The engine especially holds historic value.
“It’s a great old boat,” she said.
The museum is closed during the winter but is a popular attraction that offers sailings aboard the tall ship Friends Good Will and the Lindy Lou, a craft designed after river launches used in Michigan’s past.
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