On May 3, 2025, about 1720 local time, the US Coast Guard Sector Miami Command Center received a distress call on VHF channel 16 from the Bahamas-flagged, 65-foot-long recreational yacht TNT. According to the operator, the vessel had begun taking on water in the engine room. To prevent the yacht from sinking, the operator ran it aground on a sand bar near Monument and Star Islands in Biscayne Bay, near Miami, Florida. There were 32 people on board. Coast Guard response boats, as well as Good Samaritan vessels, assisted in safely evacuating all on board. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. The vessel was towed away from the scene and lifted out of the water at a local repair yard.
The preliminary investigation found that the recreational vessel took on water from an undetermined point of ingress. Although the investigation remains open for the Coast Guard, they are not expected to produce a separate report. There does not appear to be any commercial maritime operational or design nexus on this limited-production recreational vessel. Therefore, we have determined that continued investigation is not warranted and therefore recommend that we close this investigation.
