Casualty News – Page 4 – Professional Mariner

10 Nov

Lithium-ion battery explosion leads to fire on oil tanker

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

(WASHINGTON) — The thermal runaway of a cell within a handheld radio’s lithium-ion battery led to a fire on an oil tanker last year while docked in Baton Rouge, La., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. The fire resulted in $3 million in damage to the vessel. The oil tanker S-Trust was docked at the Genesis Port Allen…

08 Nov

Tugboats help free grounded freighter in Michigan

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsTugboats and towing

(DETROIT) — American Courage, a 617-foot lake freighter that ran aground in the St. Clair River on Tuesday morning, was successfully refloated at about 7 p.m. with the help of vessels from Great Lakes Towing. The freighter, owned by Grand River Navigation and carrying 20,000 tons of stone, grounded near Marine City, Mich. After being refloated, the ship anchored north…

03 Nov

Container barge breaks free, hits pier on Seattle waterfront

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(SEATTLE) — Several buildings along Seattle's waterfront were evacuated Thursday afternoon after an unattended barge broke free and struck a pier, Fox13 News reported. King County Metro (KCM) said the barge, reportedly owned by Alaska Marine Lines, was initially spotted and intercepted by the crew aboard Doc Maynard, a King County water taxi. KCM said the water taxi was heading…

31 Oct

Cargo vessel refloated after grounding off St. Thomas

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsSalvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(CHARLOTTE AMALIE, St. Thomas) — Salvors successfully refloated the cargo vessel Bonnie G on Monday and towed it to its current mooring location at the Crown Bay Sandfill dock in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The 195-foot, Vanuatu-flagged roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) vessel took on water in the engine room and ran aground Oct. 4 just south of the airport in St.…

23 Oct

Scrap barge catches fire while moored in Jersey City

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(JERSEY CITY, N.J.) — The Jersey City Fire Department, New Jersey Regional Fireboat Task Force, the U.S. Coast Guard and New York Fire Department (FDNY) responded to a scrap barge fire Sunday in Jersey City. Coast Guard Sector New York watch standers received an initial call of a fire aboard a scrap metal barge moored at Sims Metal in Jersey…

19 Oct

Captain’s body recovered after tug capsizes on Alabama River

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

(MOBILE, Ala.) — The body of the captain of a small tugboat was recovered by divers after the vessel capsized Saturday on the Alabama River, The Charlotte Observer reported. The U.S. Coast Guard received a report at 4:39 p.m. that a tugboat hit an object on the river before capsizing. The call came from vessel owner Encore Dredging Partners of…

19 Oct

Crewmember injured in cruise ship fire at Maine pier

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(PORTLAND, Maine) — A crewmember sustained serious injuries Wednesday following an explosion and fire in the engine room of American Queen Voyages' Ocean Navigator, which was docked at a Portland pier, CBS News reported. Firefighters with the Portland Fire Department responded before 7:30 a.m. to reports of smoke in the engine room of the 286-foot Ocean Navigator. The ship was…

17 Oct

Coast Guard suspends search for barge worker near New Orleans

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, U.S. Coast Guard

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search at 7:07 p.m. Saturday for a missing barge worker near Harahan, La. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watch standers received a call at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday from National Maintenance & Repair of Louisiana Inc. stating a worker was missing and had reportedly been working on a barge on the…

16 Oct

Coast Guard begins formal investigation into schooner casualty

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsU.S. Coast Guard

(BOSTON) – The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a formal investigation into the dismasting of the commercial passenger vessel Grace Bailey. The casualty aboard the schooner killed one passenger and injured three others. At 10 a.m. on Oct. 9, the Coast Guard responded to a schooner that had been dismasted, injuring four of the 33 people aboard approximately 1 mile…

13 Oct

NTSB cites ‘microsleep,’ complacency in Seattle ferry accident

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsferries

(WASHINGTON) — Fatigue and complacency led a Washington State Ferries (WSF) passenger and car vessel to strike a mooring dolphin at a Seattle ferry terminal last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. The contact resulted in $10.3 million in damage to the ferry and $300,000 in damage to the dolphin. The ferry Cathlamet had crossed Puget Sound…