NTSB – Page 3 – Professional Mariner

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…

05 Feb

Crew seals generator space, contains fire aboard Lake Erie ATB

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

(WASHINGTON) — On Dec. 30, 2024, about 1609, the articulated tug-barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder, with a crew of 16, was anchored in Lake Erie near Cleveland, Ohio, when a fire broke out in the generator space of the barge Pathfinder. The crew sealed the space and released the vessel’s fixed gas fire extinguishing system, putting out the fire. There were no…

23 Jan

Undetermined ignition source cited in Delaware River towboat fire

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — On Feb. 18, 2025, at about 9:25 a.m., the towing vessel Thor was pushing two barges downbound on the Delaware River, 1.5 miles downriver of New Castle, Del., when a fire broke out in the engine room. Four crewmembers isolated the fire to the engine room and subsequently abandoned ship to a nearby tugboat. The fire was extinguished…

15 Jan

Tow breaks apart after barge takes on water, rapidly sinks

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — On March 16, 2024, about 0008 local time, the towing vessel Chad Pregracke was transiting southbound on the Lower Mississippi River pushing 34 loaded barges near mile 260.6, about 5 miles east of New Roads, La. The barge PTC 706 at the head of the tow rapidly sank, causing the tow to break apart. Five barges in the…

14 Jan

NTSB cites compromised hatch in sinking of Lower Miss. towboat

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

(WASHINGTON) — On June 12, 2024, about 1530 local time, the towing vessel Cajole was upbound on the Lower Mississippi River near Waggaman, La., when the vessel began flooding. The two crewmembers aboard attempted to pump out the vessel but were unsuccessful. They tied off to a nearby barge and evacuated to a good Samaritan vessel. Cajole later sank. There…

08 Jan

Steering system ‘degradations’ cited in collision involving OSV

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB

(WASHINGTON) — On March 17, 2024, at 2253 local time, the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Jack Edwards was in the Atlantic Ocean transiting inbound to Georgetown, Guyana, when it veered to port and collided with the outbound general cargo vessel Julie C. After the collision, Jack Edwards continued to Georgetown under its own power. Julie C returned briefly to Georgetown…

30 Dec

Captain fell asleep before tugboat hit Cape Disappointment docks

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

(WASHINGTON) — On Sept. 11, 2024, the towing vessel Schweiger was transiting the Baker Bay West Channel near Ilwaco, Wash., when it struck the U.S. Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment docks at 12:36 p.m. after veering out of the channel. There were no injuries. About 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the waterway as a result of the contact.…

23 Dec

NTSB: Unlit barges, reduced visibility led to Lower Miss. allision

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — On Dec. 10, 2023, about 0139 local time, a tow guided by the towboat William E Strait was pushed in to the bank on the Lower Mississippi River near Norco, La., when the towing vessel Steel Skipper, which was reconfiguring the tow, pushed it astern. William E Strait contacted two moored barges upstream at the Shell Norco Refinery…

19 Dec

Improperly secured lithium-ion batteries cited in cargo ship fires

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, U.S. Coast Guard

(WASHINGTON) — Heavy weather and an improperly secured cargo of lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) units led to two fires aboard the 410-foot cargo vessel Genius Star XI as it was transiting the North Pacific Ocean on Christmas Day 2023, causing $3.8 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. Investigators determined that improperly secured lashing…

18 Nov

NTSB: Single loose wire led to Dali blackout, bridge strike

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime Newscasualties, NTSB

(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday that a single loose wire on the 984-foot containership Dali caused an electrical blackout that led to the vessel veering and contacting the nearby Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md. The span then collapsed, killing six highway workers. At Tuesday’s public meeting at NTSB headquarters, investigators said the loose…