Casualty News – Page 3 – Professional Mariner

Coordinated air, sea response saves sailor off Florida coast

A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew and the crew of a passing containership rescued a man from a disabled 34-foot sailboat about 35 miles offshore of Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 22 after the vessel began taking on water. Watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville received a VHF Channel 16 report relayed by Carnival Cruise Line vessel Carnival Elation stating…

Generator failure causes bulk carrier brush with Wisconsin docks on Lake Superior

Electrical generator problems aboard the bulk carrier Algoma Discovery led to loss of bow thruster function as the vessel was attempting to dock in Superior, Wis., resulting in a slow-moving but costly scrape with five shoreside loading shuttles on July 20, 2024, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In a report released late last year, the transportation watchdog…

Engine-room fire forces crew from tug on Delaware River; cause undetermined

Crewmembers abandoned ship after a fire broke out in the engine room of the towing vessel Thor while it was pushing two barges downbound on the Delaware River about a mile and a half below New Castle, Del., on the morning of Feb. 18, 2025. Investigators would later determine the fire began near a paint locker where combustible materials were…

Possible welding defect linked to bow submergence on Mississippi

The Mississippi River was “smooth as glass” with no warning signs when the towboat Chad Pregracke began to slow, despite its engines being near full throttle. It was the middle of the night, about 0008 on March 16, 2024, as the 34-barge tow passed under a bridge near New Roads, La. At the head of the tow, barge PTC 706…

Florida harbor pilot dies after falling from ladder on bulk carrier

A maritime pilot died after falling from a ladder while disembarking a bulk carrier Jan. 12 off the Florida coast. On Jan. 12, Capt. Phillip Brady of the St. Andrew Bay Harbor Pilots fell about 15 feet near Panama City, Fla., while transferring from the Singapore-flagged Lowlands Luck. Brady was recovered by the ship’s crew within about two minutes, but was…

Tanker crew rescues three sailors in heavy seas off Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated a midocean rescue in early February involving a commercial tanker and a disabled sailboat, resulting in the safe recovery of three people. A Coast Guard aircrew from Air Station Elizabeth City coordinated with the tanker Radiant Pride on Feb 2 to rescue three sailors from a disabled sailboat taking on water about 450 miles east…

Sleeping captain, COVID-19 cited in tug’s contact with Washington Coast Guard base

When the towboat Schweiger crashed into Coast Guard docks near Ilwaco, Wash., in September 2024 after the vessel’s captain fell asleep at the wheel, questions turned to his health. Was it the COVID-19 virus he had contracted; the resultant collapsed lung; effects of the ivermectin he took to treat his illness; the unforeseen consequence of a cocktail of prescription and…

Safety Alert: Immersion suit maintenance

The U.S. Coast Guard is urging vessel operators and crews to pay closer attention to immersion suit condition and upkeep after recurring inspections have revealed serious defects that could compromise survivability during cold-water exposure. Inspectors commonly find separation between suit zippers and the suit body caused by adhesive failure. When that seam fails, water can enter the suit, reducing its…

Compromised hatch and bulkhead sink towboat

An improperly sealed access hatch and unsealed bulkhead penetrations led to flooding that caused a towing vessel on the Lower Mississippi River to sink in summer 2024. According to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the 61-foot-long Cajole was traveling upbound on the Lower Mississippi River, near Waggaman, La., when the vessel floundered at about 1530 local time…

Dali, the limits of redundancy and the potential vulnerability of US bridges

A single loose wire led to one of the worst maritime casualties in U.S. history, according to a years-long analysis by federal investigators. Inside the 984-foot containership MV Dali’s power-control system, a plastic label that had been slid too far down a signal wire prevented the conductor from fully seating in a terminal block’s spring-clamp gate. The poor connection allowed…