Image credit: Sunken yacht Love Bug near West River Maryland by Mango Tube

LoveBug, the 37-metre Sanlorenzo yacht, overturned in Maryland’s Rhode River on Saturday, 26 July, forcing the crew to evacuate. To minimise environmental impact, a salvage company has deployed an oil containment boom around the vessel.

At around 12:30pm on Saturday, the US Coast Guard received an emergency call from the 2010-built yacht. The vessel was located near the mouth of the Rhode River, a small tidal estuary roughly eight nautical miles south of Annapolis, and was leaning perilously to starboard.

According to local reports, LoveBug started taking on water, leading the captain to steer intentionally towards shallow waters. The cause of the water ingress is currently unknown.

Both the CoastGuard and Maryland Natural Resources Police dispatched response units, and with the assistance of a nearby vessel from Tour Boat Annapolis, the yacht’s crew successfully evacuated.

By late afternoon, the yacht was listing nearly 70 degrees and appeared to be resting on its starboard side.

Trevor Hardman, owner of Tour Boat Annapolis, was among the initial responders. “We heard the captain's distress call as the yacht began taking on water,” he told a local news publication.

“We approached the vessel and assisted the captain, who was the last person on board. He mentioned that he did not intentionally ground the yacht but directed it to shallow water before abandoning ship. As we approached, we could hear the high water alarms sounding.”

There are currently no reports of severe environmental damage, with local authorities working to safely remove the yacht and prevent any ecological harm.

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