PORTSMOUTH — An out-of-town tugboat assisting at the Memorial Bridge project required assistance itself Tuesday afternoon after becoming pinned between a piling and a barge.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Smith said they received a report of the stuck tugboat around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

He said he could not speak to what caused the tugboat to become pinned.

Smith said when Coast Guard crews arrived on scene, the starboard side of the vessel was pinned and the current was starting to pull the boat underneath the barge. The tugboat was listing to the port side, and the captain and one crew member aboard were told to disembark onto the nearby barge Smith said, which they were able to do safely.

Smith said about 6 knots of current was pushing the boat downstream.

“It is pretty impressive to put it in terms of how strong (the current) actually is,” Smith said. He said it is like hurricane force winds pushing against the boat.

Smith said a Moran Tugboat of Portsmouth was able to pull the out-of-town tugboat out of its precarious position, and towed it to the tugboat pier where they were able to safely moor it.

Smith said the tug was in tow by 2:17 p.m.

He said the Marine Safety Detachment of the Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

A message left with the chief warrant officer of the detachment was not returned Tuesday.

Smith said New Hampshire Marine Patrol and the Portsmouth Fire Department responded to the scene along with the Coast Guard and the Moran tug.