An excavator on a barge scoops floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

An excavator on a barge scoops floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Tagish out of water: Sunken tugboat destroyed after more than a weeklong recovery effort

Recovery and pollution cleanup expected to be complete in coming days, Coast Guard official says

Bits and pieces of debris floating on the surface of Gastineau Channel just south of the downtown cruise ship docks are all that’s left of a privately owned 107-foot tugboat that sank in late December.

The recovery of the 81-year-old boat, Tagish, began nearly two weeks ago in a collaborative effort between officials from the Coast Guard, City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the contracted salvage company Melino’s Marine Services.

The effort was led by the U.S. Coast Guard which took over the response after the owner, Don Etheridge, was unable to secure the funds to hire a contractor by the Coast Guard’s deadline to recover the vessel that was uninsured at the time of its sinking.

According to USCG Ensign Charles Whittlesey, the effort is expected to be finished within the next few days and the pieces of the vessel will be transported to a hazmat disposal site located in Seattle.

An excavator on a barge scoops floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

An excavator on a barge scoops floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Whittlesey said the recovery didn’t exactly go to plan at first, but after multiple days of removal attempts, the Tagish was finally able to come up in one piece and moved to a beach area. However, it was then decided to break the vessel up into smaller pieces to get it onto the barge.

“There have been a lot of things that have been unexpected and it was a tricky one — staying away from the sewage pipeline also complicated things,” he said. “There was plan A, B, C, D — it got done eventually, but moving it onto the beach was not plan A — plan A was to lift it where it was and put it directly onto the barge but that had to change.”

Whittlesey said the costs of the recovery are currently estimated to be at least $650,000, but will likely be even higher. The cost is initially being paid for with funds from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a federal trust which provides an immediate funding source for federal responses to oil spills. However, Etheridge, who is also the board chair of City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors, will afterward be liable to pay back the cost.

According to Etheridge in an interview with the Empire on Monday, he said he’s still not sure how he is going to repay the cost.

“I’m just waiting to see for myself, I don’t know how much I gotta come up — but there’s no way I can come up with that kind of money,” he said.

An excavator on a barge dumps floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

An excavator on a barge dumps floating debris near the shore of Gastineau Channel on Monday morning. The effort was a part of the recovery process of a 107-foot tugboat that sank at a dock south of the cruise ship docks in late December. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Etheridge said he has a bit of personal money put away that he plans to use to cover some of the cost, along with using the funds from a GoFundMe that was created by a friend days after the incident. As of Monday, it has raised nearly $33,000 from 139 donors.

He said he hopes he can negotiate the cost down as well.

“It’s been ripping my heart out — it’s more than I can handle,” he said. “I think of all the thousands of dollars and hours and blood, sweat and tears I got into that, and to see it turn it into a mess like it is down there is heart-wrenching.”

This is a photo of the Tagish moored in Juneau during the time it was owned by Mike and Helene Keso, the owners before Don Etheridge. (Courtesy / Tori Keso)
This is a photo of the Tagish moored in Juneau during the time it was owned by Mike and Helene Keso, the owners before Don Etheridge. (Courtesy / Tori Keso)

This is a photo of the Tagish moored in Juneau during the time it was owned by Mike and Helene Keso, the owners before Don Etheridge. (Courtesy / Tori Keso) This is a photo of the Tagish moored in Juneau during the time it was owned by Mike and Helene Keso, the owners before Don Etheridge. (Courtesy / Tori Keso)

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

More in News

KTOO, Juneau's public radio station, is photographed in Juneau, Alaska, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public radio facing cuts as Congress moves to pull back funding

KTOO could lose one-third of its budget if the House passes a bill cutting funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting

Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo
The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14.
Ships in port for the week of July 19

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, July 17, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire File)
Hiker rescued from gully at Eaglecrest

The woman got stuck in a gully after taking a wrong turn

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The Dimond Courthouse in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file)
Juneau man pleads guilty to murder of infant

James White pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder of 5-and-half-week-old Kathy White

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Megan Dean shakes hands with the new Arctic District commander Rear Admiral Bob Little on Friday. Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, commander of the Pacific Area, smiles. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
US Coast Guard receives new commander, new name for Alaska

The Arctic District’s new icebreaker will visit Juneau next month

City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
Municipal election candidate filing period opens July 18

The filing period runs from July 18 at 8 a.m. to July 28 at 4:30 p.m.

The Mendenhall River roars more than 13 feet above normal levels in August 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Suicide Basin predicted to fill by Aug. 8

The change in the prediction of when the basin will fill was based on heavy rain last week

Most Read