Tugboats and towing – Professional Mariner

03 Jun

Sudden severe weather sinks tugboat south of Galveston

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — Severe weather caused an overwhelming towline force and unrecoverable heeling that led to the capsizing and sinking of a tugboat near Galveston, Texas, last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. On May 13, 2024, while towing the barge MARMAC 27 astern on an 800‑foot‑long wire, the tugboat Baylor J. Tregre encountered severe weather, listed to…

02 Jun

Coast Guard cites trip hazards in drowning of towboat deck hand

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

(WASHINGTON) — On Jan. 25, 2019 at 2:42 p.m., the towboat Miss Bobbie Fugit reported a missing crewmember (deck hand) and declared a man overboard between Tennessee River mile 206 and 216. The missing deck hand was last seen at approximately 9:40 a.m. on the port bow of the towing vessel preparing materials and tools to splice lines. The deck…

23 May

Towboat grounded when pilot left helm for bladder break

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — A pilot of a towing vessel on the Mississippi River left the helm unattended for several minutes, leading to a grounding near Thebes, Ill., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. While the towing vessel City of Louisville was upbound on the Mississippi River pushing 11 barges on July 29, 2023, it ran aground in a charted…

23 May

Chem Carriers finalizes fleetwide shift to Mitsubishi engines

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry Newsshipbuilding, Tugboats and towing

(SUNSHINE, La.) — Chem Carriers has completed the repower of the towboat Capt. Robert J. Banta, marking the final vessel in its current fleet to be powered by Mitsubishi engines supplied by Laborde Products. The twin-screw towboat is now running on twin Mitsubishi Tier 3 S12R-Y3MPTAW engines, each delivering 1,260 horsepower at 1,600 rpm. Originally built in 2015 by Main…

07 May

Schottel providing drives for dual-fuel methanol tugs in BC

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry NewsMethanol, propulsion, Tugboats and towing

(SPAY, Germany) — Schottel is equipping the world's first large purpose-built dual-fuel methanol escort tugs, based on the Robert Allan Ltd. RASalvor 4400-DFM design for towage company KOTUG Canada, with rudder propellers featuring the mechanical hybrid solution SYDRIVE-M. The tugs – to be named SD Aisemaht and SD Qwiy Aanitsa Sarah – are currently in the final stages of construction…

05 May

Tanker collision causes barge breakaway on Lower Mississippi

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

(NEW ORLEANS) — The U.S. Coast Guard responded to a vessel collision that resulted in a barge breakaway and one sunken barge on the Lower Mississippi River near New Orleans on April 29. Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report at approximately 9:20 p.m. that the Panamanian-flagged tanker Isla de Bioko and the U.S.-flagged towboat Ginny…

05 May

NTSB cites exposed ducting in engine room fire on towboat

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — A catastrophic engine failure led to a fire aboard a towing vessel on the Tennessee River last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. An engine room fire broke out on Jan. 30, 2024, aboard the towing vessel Johnny M, which was pushing four barges on the Tennessee River near Grand Rivers, Ky. The six crewmembers…

24 Apr

Outdraft current at McAlpine Locks cited in tow strike, breakaway

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty Newsbrownwater, NTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — A barge tow struck a vane dike on the Ohio River last year because the pilot did not effectively compensate for the outdraft current while navigating out of the McAlpine Locks in Louisville, Ky., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday. The towing vessel Amber Brittany was transiting the Ohio River on March 8, 2024, pushing 15…

16 Apr

Overheating DEF dosing modules draw Coast Guard concern

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

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard issues findings of concern to disseminate information related to unsafe conditions that were identified as causal factors in a casualty and could contribute to future incidents. Findings of concern are intended to educate the public, state or local agencies about the conditions discovered so they may address the findings with an appropriate voluntary action…

26 Mar

Mate didn’t realize extent of crane’s reach before mast strike

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsNTSB, Tugboats and towing

(WASHINGTON) — The mast of a crane barge hit a North Charleston Terminal ship-to-shore crane while the ship-to-shore crane was conducting cargo operations in North Charleston, S.C., last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday. The contact resulted in over $4.5 million in damage to the ship-to-shore crane. The towing vessel Royal Engineer was transiting the Cooper River…