A pilot of a towing vessel on the Mississippi River left the helm unattended for several minutes, leading to a grounding near Thebes, Illinois, the National Transportation Safety Board 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 shallow and rocky area. The grounding caused fractures to the vessel’s bottom plating underneath the engine room, leading to...