Casualty News – Page 388 – Professional Mariner

02 May

Coast Guard suspects towboat, barges responsible for damage to railroad bridge

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Large chunks of stone were found to be missing from a pier of the bridge that crosses the Cumberland River in Clarksville, Tenn. The river was closed to commercial vessel traffic after the damage was discovered on March 30. (Jeff L.Yates) The Coast Guard suspects a Louisiana towboat may have struck a railroad bridge over the Cumberland River at Clarksville,…

02 May

Stern-wheel cruise ship hits rock in Alaska, forcing evacuation of 248 passengers

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The Coast Guard Cutter Liberty sits alongside Empress of the North as it takes on passengers from the stricken cruise vessel. (U.S. Coast Guard) Empress of the North, a 360-foot riverboat-style cruise ship, ran aground after striking an island about 49 miles west of Juneau, Alaska, on May 14. After striking Rocky Island, a small outcrop in Icy Strait, the…

02 May

Worker killed when construction barge capsizes in N.J. river

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A demolition worker was killed when a custom-engineered segmented barge capsized in New Jersey’s Manasquan River after its load became imbalanced, the Coast Guard said. A 25-foot tugboat also overturned in the April 18 accident, which occurred at 1546 while a crew was demolishing the old Route 70 bridge near Point Pleasant, N.J. To catch discarded rubble underneath the bridge,…

02 May

Tug crewmembers charged after crane hits highway bridge

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The height of the crane would be 110 feet with the boom in the upright position, but when the boom is lowered, the crane is about 50 feet high. The bridge it struck has an air draft of 65 feet. (U.S. Coast Guard) Two mariners on a tugboat were charged with negligence and misconduct after a crane they were towing…

02 May

Collision between tanker and tow forces closure of a stretch of the Mississippi

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A collision on April 23 between the tanker Stolt Creativity and a barge being pushed by the towboat Norb Whitlock forced the closure of the Mississippi near Geismer, La. The tanker suffered minor damage, a 5-foot indent in the bow, and one of the tow’s 16 barges sank. Initially the river was closed to all traffic for two days. Subsequently,…

02 May

Charter boat captain sentenced to 6 years for death of 3 passengers

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

An Oregon charter boat captain was sentenced on May 18 to six years imprisonment for causing the deaths of three of his passengers while attempting to cross the Umpqua River Bar after it had been closed by the Coast Guard. This sentence is the harshest ever imposed under the 170-year-old Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute. The government argued that the charter boat…

02 May

Tug crew praised for rescuing sailors following collision with schooner

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A tugboat and sailboat collided in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, causing the 96-year-old schooner to sink in a matter of moments. The weather was calm at about 0330 on May 14 when the 71-foot tug Schuylkill collided with Heron, a 45-foot wooden sailboat built in 1911 and home ported in Port Monmouth, N.J. There was only a slight easterly…

29 Apr

Stalled research vessel uses quahog dredges to slow its drift

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard: (BOSTON) -- The Coast Guard safely towed a University of Rhode Island research vessel with two people aboard into port after it lost power east of Point Judith, R.I., about 10:30 a.m., today. Personnel aboard the 50-foot vessel Cap'n Bert, homeported in Wickford, R.I.,…

25 Apr

Report: Maneuver, weak safety practices doomed Bourbon Dolphin

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

(OSLO) -- A Norwegian Commission of Inquiry has released its report on the sinking of the oil-service tug Bourbon Dolphin, the Norway Post newspaper reported. The vessel sank, killing eight mariners, when it changed course while the inner starboard vessel towing pin was depressed, causing the chain to rest against the outer port towing pin. The government report also said…

25 Apr

Buckled sand barge closes Miami River for five days

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard: (MIAMI) -- The Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Capt. Karl L. Schultz, has fully re-opened the Miami River at 8 a.m. Thursday, to all marine traffic after a barge carrying sand became partially submerged Saturday. The 195-foot barge had reportedly buckled between the Dolphin…