Nanticoke River News

In recognition of her upcoming centennial, the tug Delaware is now being restored to her 1912 appearance in full public view at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. Delaware is a rare example of a typical early 20th century wooden river tug. Built in 1912 in Bethel, Delaware by William H. Smith, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s tug Delaware measures 39’8” x 11’4” and is now a floating exhibit at the museum’s waterfront campus. Delaware is a product…

The barge that ran aground last Wednesday in the mouth of the Nanticoke River was refloated Thursday evening after a successful lightering operation. The double-hulled barge carrying 420,000 gallons of black oil was able to continue its voyage up the Nanticoke River after about a 1/3 of its cargo was lightered off the vessel reducing its weight allowing tugs to pull it free. There are no injuries or pollution as a result of the grounding. At about 7 a.m. Wednesday, a crewmember aboard the tug Gold Coast notified the Coast Guard that the barge ran aground while transiting up the river towards Seaford, Del. The decision to lighter the vessel was made after two attempts to pull it free from the mud failed.