Historic Cold Pushed U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaking Fleet to the Limit in 2026
The icebreaking season for the U.S. Coast Guard was longer this year after a series of storms ravaged the country.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard was forced to rescue a total of 118 people from a grounded casino boat near Tybee Island, Georgia.
Coast Guard members aboard three 25-foot response boats and one 45-foot response boat from Station Tybee Island worked together to ferry 114 people from the grounded casino boat to the Coast Guard Cutters Maria Bray and Tarpon, which are larger vessels capable of carrying more people than the smaller response boats, and two Coast Guard helicopters hoisted four additional people off the casino ship.
The 200 foot-long casino boat Escapade ran aground Tuesday night on a sand bar off Tybee Island near the port of Savannah, Georgia, reportedly on its maiden voyage.
Apparently the house doesn’t always win.

U.S. Coast Guard Photos
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