USCGC Tamaroa (WMEC-166)

USCGC ''Tamaroa'' (WAT/WMEC-166), originally the United States Navy ''Cherokee''-class fleet tug , was a United States Coast Guard cutter. Following the U.S. Coast Guard custom of naming cutters in this class of ship after Native American tribes, she was named after the Tamaroa tribe of the Illiniwek tribal group.

Construction and U.S. Navy operational history

The ship was one of 70 of her class built for the U.S. Navy. As the fleet tug USS ''Zuni'', she saw action in World War II, including in the Marianas, Philippines, and Iwo Jima operations. After the war, she was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1946.

U.S. Coast Guard operational history

The bulk of ''Tamaroa''′s U.S. Coast Guard career was spent patrolling, working in drug interdiction, and fisheries protection. She was the first Coast Guard cutter to arrive at the sinking ocean liner '' Andrea Doria'' in 1956.

''Tamaroa'' was involved in the landmark 1969 tort case, ''Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Inc. v. United States'', 398 F.2d 167 (2d Cir. 1968), which held the United States vicariously liable for the damage caused by ''Tamaroa'' to a drydock after an intoxicated U.S. Coast Guard seaman returning to his bunk aboard ''Tamaroa'' on 14 March 1963 opened drydock water valves, flooding and sinking the drydock and causing ''Tamaroa'' to list and slide off her blocks. In its ruling, the court found that an employer (in this case, the United States Government) will be held liable under '' respondeat superior'' if the actions of the employee (in this, a U.S. Coast Guard seaman) arise out of the course of his or her employment (in this case, as a U.S. Coast Guard seaman returning to his ship after leave) and cause damage (in this case, to Bushey & Sons′ drydock). The court held that "the ship is liable for anything ship-connected persons cause it to do."Ira S. Bushey & Sons, Inc. v. United States, 398 F.2d 167 (2d Cir. 1968) - Opinion.
"While the United States Coast Guard vessel ''Tamaroa'' was being overhauled in a floating drydock located in Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, a seaman returning from shore leave late at night, in the condition for which seamen are famed, turned some wheels on the drydock wall. He thus opened valves that controlled the flooding of the tanks on one side of the drydock. Soon the ship listed, slid off the blocks and fell against the wall. Parts of the drydock sank, and the ship partially did — fortunately without loss of life or personal injury. The drydock owner sought and was granted compensation by the District Court for the Eastern District of New York in an amount to be determined."

''Tamaroa'' is perhaps most famous for a rescue described in the 1997 book '' The Perfect Storm'' (by Sebastian Junger) and depicted in the 2000 movie '' The Perfect Storm''; on October 31, 1991, ''Tamaroa'' had been attempting to rescue the crew of the sailing vessel ''Satori'' the previous day when the cutter was diverted to assist the Air National Guard aircrew, she rescued four out of the five crewmen of a downed New York Air National Guard helicopter. The fifth aircrewman was never found and presumed drowned.

Decommissioning and disposal

After the Coast Guard decommissioned her in 1994, ''Tamaroa'' was donated to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. She was noticed tied up next to the museum ship in 1994 by a former crewman who began a campaign to restore her. After several unsuccessful attempts, the Zuni Maritime Foundation, a non-profit organization in Richmond, Virginia, formed. The foundation attempted to preserve the ship in an operational condition, and use her to educate the public. This ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Prior to scuttling, parts of the ''Tamaroa'' were removed by the Black Dog Salvage company for two episodes of the TV show "Salvage Dawgs". Her main mast was repurposed as a flagpole for the Ballast Point microbrewery in Roanoke, VA. Having been tied up in Norfolk, Virginia, and environmentally cleaned, she was selected in 2016 for use as an artificial reef. Her sinking, originally scheduled for 30 October 2016, was delayed by rough seas and related issues. She finally was scuttled at 13:00 on 10 May 2017 in the Atlantic Ocean about 33 nautical miles (61 km) from Cape May, New Jersey, at a depth of 120 feet, forming an artificial reef. Her wreck is now a recreational dive site, part of the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef.

Awards

* Coast Guard Unit Commendation with three stars
* Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation with four stars
*Coast Guard "E" Ribbon with three stars
* Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation
* American Campaign Medal
* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars
* World War II Victory Medal
* National Defense Service Medal with two stars
* Humanitarian Service Medal with three stars
* Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon
* Philippine Liberation Medal

References

External links

The ''Zuni'' Maritime Foundation
Dead link
USCGC ''Tamaroa''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaroa (WMEC-166)
Ships sunk as artificial reefs
Cherokee-class fleet tugs of the United States Coast Guard
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
1943 ships
Maritime incidents in 2017
Scuttled vessels
Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast