Casualty News Archives - Professional Mariner

26 Jan

Man dies in fall aboard boxship in Port of Los Angeles

Casualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(SAN PEDRO, Calif.) — A man died after falling about 50 feet from the superstructure of a containership Wednesday afternoon at the Port of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported. Fire department personnel responded to South Navy Way on Terminal Island at about 4:45 p.m. When they arrived on the scene, they found that the victim had been…

23 Jan

Tug grounds after collision near Corpus Christi refinery

Casualty Newsbrownwater

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a tugboat that ran aground near the South Texas Gateway refinery in Corpus Christi on Monday. Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watch standers received a call at 4 p.m. Sunday from the agent of G&H Towing stating that the tug Mark E. Kuebler had ran aground outside the channel…

17 Jan

Coast Guard to hold public hearing on loss of Spirit of Norfolk

Casualty Newssafety, U.S. Coast Guard

(PORTSMOUTH, Va.) — The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to conduct a formal hearing starting Thursday, Jan. 26, in Virginia Beach to consider evidence related to the fire and total constructive loss of the passenger vessel Spirit of Norfolk. The hearing is scheduled to take place at the Virginia Beach City Council Chambers on the second floor, which is located…

16 Jan

Crewman medevaced after falling aboard boxship near Galveston

Casualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(HOUSTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced an injured crewman Friday from a containership in the Houston Ship Channel near Galveston, Texas. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watch standers received a notification at 1 p.m. from the Houston Pilots aboard CMA CGA Samson, a 1,099-foot containership, stating a 34-year-old crewmember had fallen and sustained a severe lower leg injury. Watch standers…

13 Jan

Mariner airlifted after breaking legs on boxship off Alaska

Casualty News

(KODIAK, Alaska) — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak air crew, forward deployed to Cold Bay, medically evacuated a mariner from a vessel 220 miles south of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Wednesday. The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the 44-year-old man from the 550-foot containership FPMC 33 and safely transported him back to Cold Bay for a wing-to-wing transfer with…

12 Jan

NTSB: Improper lookouts led to collision that sank tanker

Casualty News

(WASHINGTON) — Two crews not maintaining proper lookouts led to the collision between a yacht and a tanker near Nassau, Bahamas, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday. The collision resulted in the sinking of the tanker and nearly $7.9 million in damage. The motor yacht Utopia IV and tanker Tropic Breeze were transiting the Northeast Providence Channel on…

09 Jan

Relay failure leads to loss of steering, $6 million accident

Casualty Newsbrownwater, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — A bulk carrier’s loss of steering led to an estimated $6 million in damage when it struck a barge near New Orleans, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently determined. On July 12, 2021, Jalma Topic was transiting upriver on the Lower Mississippi River when it lost steering and struck a stationary barge that was being used for…

05 Jan

ATB tug partially sinks at pier in Port of Milwaukee

Casualty NewsTugboats and towing

(MILWAUKEE, Wis.) — The U.S. Coast Guard responded Monday after it was reported that the towing vessel Michigan was sinking in the Kinnickinnic River in the Port of Milwaukee. The National Response Center reported the incident to Coast Guard watch standers at 11:27 a.m., stating that the 112-foot tug – part of an articulated tug-barge (ATB) with the petroleum carrier…

28 Dec

NTSB welcomes duck boat safety rules in defense bill

Casualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy welcomed maritime safety improvements in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023, which President Biden signed into law on Dec. 23. The legislation advances NTSB recommendations for amphibious vessels known as DUKW boats and requires the U.S. Coast Guard to provide an initial response to…

21 Dec

Tanker crewman airlifted after injury off Southwest Pass

Casualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 48-year-old male crewmember from an oil tanker vessel Tuesday approximately 58 miles southwest of Southwest Pass, La. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watch standers received a call at 4:58 a.m. from PGC Ikaros personnel stating a crewmember fell and sustained injuries to his arm. Watch standers coordinated the launch of a…