< p>PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — Firefighters spent more than 12 hours battling a blaze on a tugboat docked in Southeast Texas before the engine fire was extinguished.

The Beaumont Enterprise (http://bit.ly/Y4nrKq ) reports four crewmembers on board Tuesday were transported to a hospital for examination, as a precaution.

Coast Guard Lt. Bryana Nicholas says the crew was able to dock near Port Arthur and get to safety before the fire spread to other parts of the vessel. Crews from the Coast Guard and the Port Arthur Fire Department fought the blaze on the tugboat docked on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Authorities are trying to determine what started the fire.

A message left for the tugboat operator, Marquette Transportation Company LLC, was not immediately returned Wednesday.

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Information from: The Beaumont Enterprise, http://beaumontenterprise.com