Casualty News – Professional Mariner

10 Mar

U.S.-flagged tanker burns after being hit by boxship off Britain

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsshipping

(LONDON) — A U.S.-flagged oil tanker spewed black smoke and flames Monday after being struck by a containership off Britain's North Sea coast, NPR reported. U.K. Coastguard and firefighting helicopters were hovering over the burning ships as lifeboats ferried survivors away. The chief executive of a nearby port told local media there was a "massive fireball" following the collision. Authorities…

05 Mar

Degraded dock collapses in Louisiana after barge strike

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — About 150 feet of a degraded dock in Chalmette, La., collapsed into the Lower Mississippi River in 2023 after a barge contact, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. The towing vessel Ovide J was maneuvering two loaded crude oil barges to the Chalmette Refinery crude oil dock on April 25, 2023, when the starboard barge struck…

28 Feb

Boxship aground off Newfoundland cannot safely be refloated

Rich MillerCasualty NewsCanadian Coast Guard, shipping

(WILD COVE, Newfoundland and Labrador) — Almost two weeks after running aground on the coast of Newfoundland, the containership MSC Baltic III remains firmly settled on the seabed, with salvage operations hampered by bad weather as authorities consider building a road to access the ship, World Cargo News reported. The 2,478-TEU vessel, which ran aground near Wild Cove on Feb.…

25 Feb

Containers lost overboard due to faulty cargo weight data

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, shipping, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — The input of incorrect container cargo weight data when developing the cargo loading plan led to shipping containers falling off a cargo ship and others becoming damaged while the vessel was drifting off the coast of California, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. On Feb. 6, 2024, the U.S.-flagged containership President Eisenhower lost 23 shipping containers…

20 Feb

Incorrect valve led to fatal engine room fire on containership

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, shipping

(WASHINGTON) —The installation of an incorrect valve in a pipe to a diesel oil tank led to a fatal fire aboard a containership docked in LaPorte, Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. On Jan. 8, 2024, a fire broke out in the engine room aboard the boxship Stride during bunkering operations while docked at the Barbours Cut…

18 Feb

Crew rescued after tugboat catches fire on Delaware River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(PHILADELPHIA) — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies responded to a tugboat fire Tuesday near Pea Patch Island on the Delaware River. All four crewmembers on board were safely evacuated from the vessel by good Samaritans. The fire has been extinguished and the vessel was placed under tow. The Coast Guard did not identify the tugboat by name. Coast…

17 Feb

20 rescued after boxship runs aground off Newfoundland

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsCanadian Coast Guard

(LARK HARBOUR, Newfoundland and Labrador) — All 20 crewmembers aboard the containership MSC Baltic III were rescued Saturday after their vessel ran aground on Newfoundland and Labrador's west coast, CBC News reported. Early Saturday morning, the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Center in nearby Channel-Port aux Basques received a mayday from the cargo ship about 12 nautical miles off the…

11 Feb

Inadequate length of anchor chain cited in St. Thomas grounding

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — An anchor chain failure led to the grounding of a cargo vessel in the Caribbean Sea, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. On Oct. 4, 2023, the cargo vessel Bonnie G was anchored, waiting out poor weather about 1 mile south of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, when its anchor chain parted and the vessel began…

10 Feb

Incorrect air draft estimate led to crane hitting Mackinac Bridge

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, Tugboats and towing, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — A captain and barge company managers not identifying that the crane they were towing was too high to pass under the Mackinac Bridge near Mackinaw City, Mich., led to the crane hitting the bridge, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Monday. On May 7, 2023, the towing vessel Nickelena was transiting the Straits of Mackinac, towing a…

05 Feb

NTSB: Ships’ wakes led to barge strike in New Orleans lock

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — Surging water from the Mississippi River led to a 2023 barge strike on a gate at Algiers Lock in New Orleans, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. The Algiers Lock connects the Mississippi River to a network of inland waterways. On July 4, 2023, the towing vessel Kitty was pushing two loaded tank barges into the…