Port of Savannah longshoreman missing after fall into water

Coast Guard leading effort to locate 70-year-old man

The Coast Guard is using a helicopter and response boat to search for a Port of Savannah longshoreman. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

The Coast Guard is leading the search for a longshoreman who reportedly fell into the water at the Port of Savannah early Tuesday.

The Coast Guard released a photo of the search Tuesday.

Coast Guard Sector Charleston said it was notified by the Georgia Ports Authority shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday that a 70-year-old man had fallen into the water from the gangway of the Maersk Tukang at the Port of Savannah. 

Assisting in the search are a HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Savannah and a 29-foot response boat from Station Tybee Island, the Coast Guard said. 

The Coast Guard tweeted at about 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday that the search continued.

The Maersk Tukang had berthed at the Port of Savannah after calling Charleston, South Carolina, and New York. The Tukang reportedly has a capacity of 8,100 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Assisting the Coast Guard are responders in Georgia from the Department of Natural Resources, Savannah Fire and Rescue, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and Garden City Fire and Rescue. 

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Click for more American Shipper/FreightWaves stories by Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills.

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Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.