HR Recommendation Refloated in Charleston Harbor

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer John Doughten

A 441-foot Liberian-flagged freighter that ran aground in Charleston Harbor Tuesday after losing propulsion has been refloated, the Coast Guard says.

No damage or pollution was reported after the vessel, the HR Recommendation, ran aground Tuesday evening while inbound to Columbus Street Terminal in Charleston, S.C..

The Coast Guard said watch standers received notification the vessel had lost propulsion just inside the Charleston Harbor entrance jetties near buoys 20 and 22, and that the vessel subsequently ran aground outside of the channel in approximately 15 feet of water.

Moran Towing vessels Cape May, Diane Moran, and Elizabeth Turecamo successfully refloated the vessel at high tide early Wednesday morning and escorted it to the Columbus Street Terminal.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.

Interesting to note… the HR Recommendation was formerly named Beluga Recommendation and owned by Beluga Shipping, once one of the world’s largest project and heavy-lift cargo shipping companies, until the company was declared insolvent in March 2011 and dropped off the map.

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