(WASHINGTON) — A tow pilot’s distraction caused by personal cellphone use resulted in the tow striking moored barges last year on the Lower Mississippi River, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.
The towing vessel William B. Klunk was pushing 22 loaded hopper barges on April 17, 2024, when the tow struck moored barges at a fleeting area near Baton Rouge, La. Thirteen barges broke away from the William B. Klunk tow and three barges broke away from the fleeting area, resulting in damage to the barges, a fleet crew boat and two mooring dolphins. The incident resulted in one minor injury and estimated damage of $810,000.
The pilot reported using his personal cellphone during the transit. In the almost 6 minutes leading up to the incident, the pilot did not make any rudder or throttle adjustments as the tow moved toward the fleeting area. The onboard image recorder system footage showed the pilot using his personal cellphone and not monitoring the tow’s position 40 seconds before the impact.
While navigating the tow for about 1.5 hours before the incident, the pilot engaged in nonoperational, secondary tasks, including taking an administrative phone call from the company’s safety officer, making a personal phone call and sending text messages.
“Use of cellphones, including company cellphones (particularly for nonoperational conversations), should never interfere with a watch stander’s primary task to safely navigate a vessel and maintain a proper lookout,” the report said. “To reduce the risk of cellphone distraction, operating companies should establish protocols regarding both personal and work-related cellphone use, and vessel personnel should understand the importance in following them.”
Investigators determined the pilot’s fatigue due to limited sleep the night before contributed to the incident. The pilot received about four hours of continuous sleep in the 36 hours before the incident. The pilot’s fatigue was due to him being up nearly 18 hours at the time of the barge strike.
“The risk of distraction increases when an individual is fatigued,” the report said. “Fatigue’s impacts to attention, vigilance, and multi-tasking can increase the likelihood that an individual will disengage from their primary task and become distracted by a secondary task.”
Click here to read the complete report.
– National Transportation Safety Board
