Casualty News – Professional Mariner

21 Sep

Excessive speed led to tug grounding in Texas, NTSB says

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, safety, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — Excessive speed during a bow-to-bow harbor-assist maneuver led to the grounding of the tugboat CC Portland in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. It is the second marine casualty the NTSB investigated in 2022 caused by excessive speed in azimuthing stern drive, or ASD, tugboats while in the center…

18 Sep

Four escape as retired riverboat catches fire on Napa River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

(VALLEJO, Calif.) — A partially sunken riverboat docked on the Napa River caught fire on Saturday, with four people who reportedly were living on board escaping the flames, SFist reported. Two of the people jumped into the water and two made it to shore on their own. Grand Romance, a replica 19th-century paddlewheeler that had been evicted from Long Beach…

08 Sep

Failure to maintain crane barge results in $6 million loss

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — A barge owner’s lack of inspection and maintenance led to the capsizing and sinking of a crane barge last year in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. The crane barge Ambition was being towed when it capsized and sank on June 15, 2022, releasing an estimated 1,980 gallons of oil. No injuries…

05 Sep

ATF report: Fatal Conception fire started in plastic trash can

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB

(WASHINGTON) — The fire that killed 34 people aboard the dive boat Conception in 2019 near Santa Cruz Island in California started in a plastic trash can on the main deck, according to a new report by the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper said it reviewed a 197-page confidential report prepared by investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,…

22 Aug

Safety alert: Improving small vessel detectability

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

21 Aug

False alarm, propulsion loss led to Sabine Pass collision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB

(WASHINGTON) — A loss of propulsion due to a false alarm led to cargo vessels colliding near Port Arthur, Texas, last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. While transiting Sabine Pass on Aug. 21, 2022, the cargo ship Damgracht lost propulsion when the vessel’s main engine shut down due to “high oil mist density” sensed by its…

12 Aug

NTSB: Fatal cutter collision due to lack of proper lookout

Rich MillerCasualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The fatal collision between the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Winslow Griesser and a small boat off the coast of Puerto Rico last year resulted from the failure of either vessel to maintain a proper lookout, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. Maintaining a proper lookout, by sight and sound, is a fundamental rule of the Convention…

10 Aug

Three rescued as push tug sinks off North Myrtle Beach

Rich MillerCasualty News, UncategorizedTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — U.S. Coast Guard and partner agency crews continue to respond to a 59-foot push tug that sank Tuesday night approximately 3 miles off North Myrtle Beach. Horry County Fire Rescue personnel rescued the three crewmembers aboard the tug, the name of which has not been disclosed. The vessel is currently in 30 feet of water…

09 Aug

All vehicles removed from con-ro after Port Newark fire

Rich MillerCasualty NewsSalvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(NEWARK, N.J.) — Salvage and post-fire recovery operations continue on Grande Costa D’Avorio as crews work to safely transfer vehicles and cargo from the vessel to the port facility. To date, all vehicles have been removed from the cargo decks of the container/roll-off, roll-on ship (con-ro), as well as all 134 freestanding containers that were located beyond the area affected…

03 Aug

Breached bulk carrier spills diesel into Lake Michigan

Rich MillerCasualty NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, U.S. Coast Guard

(MANISTEE, Mich.) — U.S. Coast Guard personnel, along with state and local agencies, responded Wednesday to a report of the bulk carrier Manitowoc spilling diesel in Lake Michigan, approximately 1.5 nautical miles off Manistee, Mich. At approximately 2:50 p.m., the 612-foot Manitowoc reported a hull breach on its starboard diesel tank. The maximum spill potential is 45,174 gallons of diesel.…