On October 8, the tug Arthur F. Zeman was disabled by heavy seas about 24 miles east-southeast of Georgetown, South Carolina and 48 miles northeast of the Charleston sea bouy. Weather conditions were deteriorating rapidly, going from a small craft advisory to gale force conditions, with winds out of the northeast at 25-30 knots and eight to twelve ft. seas. At the time, the Arthur f. Zeman was towing hopper barge GL-35 on 1400 ft. of wire.
McAllister Towing of Charleston, Inc.’s tug, Buckley McAllister responded from Charelston, South Carolina, under the command of Capt. Andy Rowe and Capt. Mike Sistare. Also on board were Tony Davis, Louis Santos, and Don D. White. They located the Arthur F. Zeman and barge GL-35 at 2:00 on Wednesday, October 9th. The tug was without power or main engines, and had its anchor out to slow the drift. The crew of the Buckley decided to wait until daylight to act. MacAllister’s crew took the Arthur F. Zeman and barge GL-35 undertow and proceeded back to the Charleston Harbor. Neither the tug Arthur F. Zeman nor barge GL-35 suffered any serious damage and, as last reported its crewmembers were treated and released.