(WASHINGTON) — On June 6, 2024, about 0512 local time, the towing vessel Josset was transiting the Morgan City-Port Allen Route of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, about 2.7 miles from Crescent, La., pushing three barges, when the lead barge struck the Bayou Grosse Tete Bridge. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported. Damage to the bridge was estimated at $2.5 million.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the contact between the Josset tow and the Bayou Grosse Tete Bridge was the bridge tender’s miscalculation of Josset’s proximity, which resulted in him not starting to open the bridge in a timely manner. Contributing was the lack of a lookout stationed on the head of the tow, resulting in the pilot being unaware the bridge was not open until it was too late to stop the tow.
“Unless elsewhere stipulated, bridges must open for vessels on navigable waterways per U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Vessels require time and space to stop, maneuver, or both. Slowing a vessel, particularly one pushing a string of barges, renders them less maneuverable,” the NTSB report said. “Timely opening of bridges is only facilitated by adequate communication between bridge tenders and the vessel operators. The Josset pilot called the bridge tender about 0452, when the head of the tow was 1 mile away per standard practice. With the tow transiting at a speed about 3 mph, it would take the head of the tow, which was about 637 feet ahead of the towboat, about 20 minutes to reach the bridge. The bridge tender acknowledged the call and noted the range and speed of the vessel via AIS. The bridge tender waited for a second call from the vessel before starting to open the bridge, as was typical.”
“The bridge tender stated that he believed the tow’s AIS position was based on the location of the Josset. The bridge tender used this position to calculate the tow’s distance from the bridge,” the report said. “However, the bridge tender did not know the full length of
the tow because that data was not broadcast by the Josset (nor was it required to be); only the length of the towboat was broadcast. Because the bridge tender miscalculated the tow’s proximity to the bridge, he did not have the swing span open by the time the tow reached the bridge, as he had conveyed to the pilot.”
Click here to read the complete report.
– National Transportation Safety Board
