The following is a marine accident brief from the National Transportation Safety Board:
Accident summary
On June 9, 2012, about 1705 central daylight time, the uninspected towing vessel Marguerite L. Terral with six crewmembers on board was pushing 12 empty barges on the Mississippi River near Hickman, Ky. (mile marker 911), when the vessel's port engine caught fire. The crew tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the fire before evacuating onto one of the barges. No one was injured nor did the accident cause any pollution. The damage to the Marguerite L. Terral was estimated to be $2.6 million.
Probable cause
The NTSB could not determine the origin of the engine room fire on board the Marguerite L. Terral. Contributing to the extent of the fire damage was the crew's failure to set fire boundaries, shut down the ventilation, and use the onboard fire suppression equipment effectively.
Click here to read the complete report.
