Passengers Taken Off Stranded Savannah Casino Boat

The U.S. Coast Guard informs that the casino boat 'Escapade' is moored at its homeport and is no longer aground in Calibogue Sound near Tybee Island, Georgia.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Tybee Island were notified the Escapade had ran aground with 94 passengers and 31 staff and crewmembers aboard during the ship’s maiden voyage.

Coast Guard crews from Station Tybee Island, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Georgia, and the Coast Guard Cutters Tarpon and Maria Bray worked together to take off 118 passengers and non-essential crew and staff from the Escapade.

The 174-foot vessel subsequently freed itself under its own power when high tide came without the help of commercial salvage boats and transited to its homeport at Bull River Marina in Savannah, Georgia, where it is currently moored.

Two Coast Guard marine inspectors boarded the Escapade after it became free and conducted a damage assessment before the vessel returned to its mooring at Bull River Marina.

The cause of the incident remains under Coast Guard investigation.