(WASHINGTON) — On July 8, 2023, at 2326, the towing vessel Danny Terral was pushing six loaded barges on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana when the starboard lead barge contacted a pier while docking at the Port of Lake Charles. Damage to the pier was estimated to be about $1 million.
The tow remained intact, and there was no reported damage to the barges or towing vessel. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the incident was the mate misjudging the approach to an unlit, unfamiliar pier in the dark.
“The nighttime conditions required the mate to manually train the spotlight on the unlit pier, in addition to operating the steering and propulsion controls and monitoring the tow’s speed and position,” the NTSB said. “The deck hand, who would typically be positioned at the head of the tow to call out distances to the operator in the wheelhouse as the tow approached the pier, had not yet gotten into position for the docking. As a result, he did not communicate with the mate regarding the tow’s distance to the pier. The mate’s inexperience with the docking location, coupled with the unlit pier and lack of distance information from the deck hand, resulted in him misjudging the approach to the pier.”
Click here to read the complete report.
– National Transportation Safety Board
