NTSB

Lack of experience causes barge allision with fixed pier

The NTSB issued an investigation report on a barge allision with a fixed pier of a swing bridge, causing no injuries but significant damage to both barge and the bridge. The report indicated the assignment of an inexperienced pilot as key cause of the accident.

The incident

About 0230 local time on 26 October 2017, the towing vessel Cooperative Venture, with a crew of 10, was pushing 12 barges downbound on the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota. As the vessel approached the St. Paul Union...

https://safety4sea.com/lack-of-experience-causes-barge-allision-with-fixed-pier/

Fatigue Risk Management Guide issued for US towing industry

The American Waterways Operators, representing the US tugboat, towboat and barge industry, has released a new safety guide as the latest milestone in its two-decade effort to reduce the risk of fatigue-related accidents in the towing industry, working in cooperation with the US Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, and internationally renowned sleep experts.

The guide, ‘Developing a Fatigue Risk Management Plan: A Guide for Towing Vessel Operators’, is produced under the...

https://safety4sea.com/fatigue-risk-management-guide-issued-for-us-towing-industry/

Three years later, Congress moves for El Faro safety reforms

The wreck of the El Faro. NTSB photo.

Congress has ordered a sweeping package of maritime safety reforms, three years after the 790’ containership El Faro sank in Hurricane Joaquin with all 33 on board.

Congress passed the legislation, a few days before the third anniversary of the Oct. 1, 2015 disaster. In the crew’s homeport of Jacksonville, Fla., where a city park was renamed to honor the crew in 2016, the mayor and city council declared Monday “El Faro 33 Memorial Day.”

The Congressional action awaiting President Trump’s...

https://www.workboat.com/news/bluewater/three-years-later-congress-moves-for-el-faro-safety-reforms/

NTSB issues report on 2017 GIWW towboat sinking

The towboat Savage Ingenuity and two empty tank barges on south bank of the GIWW post-accident. Aft view shows water up to second deck on starboard side of towboat. Coast Guard photos

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a marine accident brief on the flooding and sinking of an 1,880-hp towboat in 2017 while maneuvering two empty tank barges with the assistance of another vessel in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Sulphur, La.

While the tow’s starboard side was almost perpendicular to the current, the towboat Savage Ingenuity heeled to starboard and flooded through an open engine room door, the NTSB report said. The towboat sank partially, its bow...

https://www.workboat.com/news/coastal-inland-waterways/ntsb-issues-report-on-2017/

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