Stuck Shrimp Boat In Ormond Beach Freed

Ormond Beach, FL - The shrimp boat which has been aground in Ormond Beach for over two weeks is finally gone. The A.M.G. - a 77-foot-long, 150-ton vessel - came free around 2:30 this morning (October 31st) during high tide from its spot near the Cardinal Drive beach approach on State Road A1A, according to the United States Coast Guard.

Cardinal Avenue beach access in Ormond Beach without the 77- foot shrimp boat AMG. USCG Petty Officer Luke Clayton said it was removed at high tide overnight. pic.twitter.com/UXchbbxLUm

— News Daytona Beach (@NewsDaytonaBch) October 31, 2018

USCG Petty Officer Luke Clayton says the tow boat which managed to push the A.M.G. further away from shore yesterday before it got stuck again on another sandbar came back during the night and got it over that sandbar. "We know it took a little bit of time to get it off, but we'd rather get it off safely and the crew was able to do that," Clayton added. USCG authorized the "Rio Bravo" tugboat and the A.M.G. crew after yesterday afternoon's attempt failed to try again during the night, granting it a special exemption since such salvage operations normally aren't authorized with the sun down, per Clayton. The A.M.G. - which ran aground on October 15th - was hauled to a shipyard in Jacksonville for repairs. The crew attempted to free the ship on its own 10 days after it ran aground but were unsuccessful.