Accident Reports

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published its report on a towboat sinking incident in which three towboats and an unnamed deck barge sank in the Illinois River while moored at the Jersey County Grain Company facility in Hardin, Ill. No crewmembers were aboard any of the vessels. Approximately 2,800 gallons of diesel fuel were released into the river and mostly recovered. Damage to the vessels, deck barge, and facility totaled an estimated $920,000.

Four vessels were involved in the towboat sinking: the 47-foot-long towing vessel Chattie Sue Smith, built in 1963, the 55-foot-long Mary-R, built in 1964; the 54-foot-long Mary Fern, built in 1978; and the 50-foot-long Teddi B, built in 1989, which was moored with the other vessels on the day of the accident but did not sink. The towboats, all equipped with twin propellers, were moored with a 50-foot-long-by- 18-foot-wide steel deck barge.

On July 5, 2019, the four vessels and the deck barge were moored on the right descending bank of the Illinois River at mile Continue reading “Triple towboat sinking report published by NTSB”

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has published its investigation report into the bottom contact of the passenger vessel Island Queen III near Whiskey Island, Ontario, in August 2017. In addition, TBS has issued three safety concerns relating to the carriage of lifejackets, the evacuation of passengers during an emergency, and specialized training for crew members who are responsible for managing passengers during an emergency.

In the early afternoon of 8 August 2017, the passenger vessel Island Queen III left port for a planned three-hour cruise in the Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River, sailing out of Kingston, Ontario with 290 people on board. Almost immediately after departing, the vessel encountered three separate fleets of local sailing school dinghies, causing it to deviate from the planned route. As the vessel moved through a narrow portion of the route, it strayed into shallow water and struck bottom, Continue reading “Island Queen III: Three safety concerns after bottom contact of passenger vessel issued by TSB”