“Having more rigorous requirements in place could have prevented this accident from occurring,” said NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker. “Not only do these regulations need to be put in place but it is imperative that they are enforced and adhered to.”
The Board stated in its final report that Athena Construction’s manual contained no procedures mandating the use of the safety devices on the spud winch except during electrical work. It was found that if the Athena 106 crew had used the steel pins to secure the retracted spuds during their transit, a pin would have prevented the aft spud from accidentally deploying. Furthermore, the spud would have remained locked in its lifted position regardless of whether the winch brake mechanism, the spud’s supporting cable, or a piece of connecting hardware had failed.
Contributing to the accident was the failure of Central Boat Rentals to require, and the Miss Megan master to ensure, that the barge spuds were securely pinned before getting under way. The Board noted that investigators found no evidence that the Miss Megan master or deckhand checked whether the spuds had been properly secured before the tow began. While Central Boat Rentals had a health and safety manual and trained its crews, the written procedures did not specifically warn masters about the need to secure spuds or other barge equipment before navigating. The company’s crew should have been trained to identify potential safety hazards on vessels under their control.
As a result of these findings the Safety Board recommended that Athena Construction and Central Boat Rentals should develop procedures and train the employees of its barges to use the securing pins to hold spuds safely in place before transiting from one site to another.
