(WASHINGTON) — On January 29, about 1230 local time, the towing vessel Nell Womack was pushing hopper barges ACL23401 and ACBL2549 upbound on the Lower Mississippi River when one of two facing wires connecting the towing vessel to barge ACL23401 parted.
When it became unsafe for the towing vessel to remain attached by one facing wire, the crew released the wire. Both barges drifted downriver, and, at 1240, barge ACBL2549 struck the Port of West Memphis dock in West Memphis, Ark. Damage to the dock and the barge ACBL2549 was estimated at $500,000. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the breakaway of the barges and subsequent contact of barge ACBL2549 with the Port of West Memphis dock was the parting of the starboard facing wire connecting barge ACL23401 to the towboat, likely due to undetected damage to its wire strands.
“At the time of the breakaway, the facing wires used by the crew of the Nell Womack had been in service for about four months,” the NTSB said in its analysis. “The crewmembers visually examined the facing wires each time the towing vessel was moving a barge, in accordance with company policy. The 1.5-inch wires were the correct size for the towing operation and, based on interviews with the captain and crew, the wires were properly connected to the barge and tightened (no slack) before the tow got underway.
“Before departing, the crew raised no concerns about the starboard facing wire’s condition. As the towing vessel and the barges transited upriver and approached a right bend in the river, the 3-to-5-knot current, acting disproportionately (stronger force) on the starboard side of the lead barge, would have placed additional stress on the point where the ACL23401 was connected to the Nell Womack on the starboard side. Given that there were no visible indications of problems with the condition of the starboard facing wire, it likely parted due to deterioration to its wire strands that was not detected during visual inspections,” the agency said.
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– National Transportation Safety Board
