Casualty News – Page 4 – Professional Mariner

09 Mar

Coast Guardsman fatally injured in rescue of distressed mariner

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsSearch and rescue, U.S. Coast Guard

(SEATTLE) — A U.S. Coast Guard aviation survival technician died Thursday as a result of injuries suffered during the rescue of a distressed mariner from a commercial ship on Feb. 27. As part of an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria, Ore., Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Jaggers was injured while responding to a medical emergency aboard the…

25 Feb

Salvors remove grounded barge from entrance to San Juan Harbor

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

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The unified command managing response efforts for the grounded barge Defiant announced the successful refloating and removal of the vessel from the Castillo San Felipe del Morro shoreline on Wednesday. The unified command said response personnel and contracted salvors refloated Defiant at 2:22 a.m., just before the arrival of high tide. Salvage crews and tugboat…

25 Feb

Injury highlights hazards to crew in tug-to-barge transits

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

(WASHINGTON) — While moored at a refinery in Chalmette, La., a towing vessel crewmember fell approximately 30 feet into the tow notch of an oceangoing articulated tug-barge (ATB) after overextending their reach and losing their footing while climbing the barge’s set-in pigeonholes. The fall resulted in multiple head and facial fractures and the crewmember became pinned within the tow notch,…

25 Feb

Destroyer CO removed from command after collision with oiler

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsLicensing and training

(WASHINGTON) — The commander of a guided-missile destroyer that collided with an oiler in the Caribbean Sea earlier this month has been removed from command, USNI News reported. Cmdr. James Koffi was removed from command of USS Truxtun (DDG-103) by U.S. 4th Fleet commander Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello following a Feb. 11 collision with U.S. Navy fleet oiler USNS Supply…

18 Feb

NTSB cites uncovered strainers in pier sinking of bulker Cuyahoga

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, NTSB

(WASHINGTON) — On March 18, 2025, about 1600 local time, the bulk carrier Cuyahoga was discovered partially flooded while docked on Lake Erie in Ashtabula, Ohio. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported. The vessel was dewatered and refloated. Salvage costs were undetermined; the vessel had previously been declared a constructive total loss as a result of extensive…

18 Feb

Salvors remove residual fuel from grounded barge in San Juan

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsPorts, Salvage, U.S. Coast Guard

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — The unified command announced salvors completed fuel removal operations Monday as assessments and preparations continue to remove a grounded fuel barge from the rocks along the San Felipe del Morro Castle shoreline. The barge Defiant grounded at about noon Feb. 9 just off the Port of San Juan harbor entrance. There were no reported injuries. The…

13 Feb

Master lacked real-time data on vertical clearance before bridge strike

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

(WASHINGTON) — On May 7, 2025, a towing vessel struck a vertical lift bridge while transiting northbound on the Vermilion River in Perry, La., during rising river conditions. The investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that the vessel’s master miscalculated the bridge’s available clearance. This was due in part to relying on outdated river level data, which did not…

13 Feb

Two injured when U.S. destroyer, oiler collide in Caribbean

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsMilitary Sealift Command

(WASHINGTON) — The guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun (DDG-103) and fast oiler USNS Supply (AOE-6) collided in the Caribbean near South America during an underway replenishment on Wednesday, according to a U.S. Southern Command statement and USNI News. “Two personnel reported minor injuries and are in stable condition. Both ships have reported sailing safely. The incident is currently under investigation,” reads…

10 Feb

Fuel barge runs aground at entrance to San Juan Harbor

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

(SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico) — U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan personnel are responding alongside local emergency agencies to a fuel barge that ran aground at about noon Monday off the San Juan Harbor port entrance by the San Felipe del Morro Castle. No injuries have been reported and there are no signs of pollution. The barge currently holds approximately…

09 Feb

Autonomous vessel was in test mode when it struck rowing scull

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsAutonomous vessels, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — On Aug. 7, 2024, a 16-foot autonomous vessel collided with a 27-foot recreational rowing vessel from a local rowing club on the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Md. At the time of the incident, the autonomous vessel was undergoing testing which required its anti-collision system to be disabled and was being observed by a reduced crew aboard a separately…