Coast Guard recovers operator off grounded, flooding vessel near Ludington

BIG SABLE POINT, Mich. (WLUC) - A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Ludington, Michigan, assisted an operator off of his vessel that he grounded off Big Sable Point Saturday.

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The operator was on his way from Pentwater, Michigan, to Traverse City, Michigan, aboard a 76-foot pleasure craft when he noticed his vessel was taking on water so he decided to ground the vessel in about 3 feet of water.

The boat crew, which was already underway on patrol when the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center directed it to assist, arrived on scene in about 20 minutes. The operator was removed from the vessel after it began listing about 15 degrees.

There were no injuries and no report of pollution. A commercial salvage company is planning to place boom around the vessel Sunday and position a barge with a vacuum pump to remove all of the fuel and oil from the vessel.