Archive for March 2016
What are the Three Factors that Cause 80 Percent of Deaths at Sea?
Here’s the good news. The overall number of commercial fishing fatalities has declined by 34 percent during the time between 2000 and 2014. So, what’s the bad news? Well, fishermen are still dying at sea. In 2014 alone, 29 fishermen died while working at sea. Granted, this is a huge decrease compared to the 42…
Read MoreWhat Caused These Two Vessels to Crash in the Gulf Coast?
In 2014, an unusual circumstance occurred that caused a commercial fishing boat and an offshore supply vessel (OSV) to collide. That evening, the 130-foot OSV slammed into a 73-foot shrimping boat and breached the hull, causing the shrimp boat to sink. Thankfully, all of the shrimp boat crew were recovered from the water with minimal…
Read MoreHow Did These Boaters Die on an Alabama Lake?
Last year, two passengers on a pontoon boat lost their lives when they were struck by another vessel in the northwest Alabama area. The pontoon boat passengers had been taken out late that night for stargazing when a barge being pushed by towboats was heading downstream. The pontoon boat stalled and the barge smashed into…
Read MoreWorker Loses His Life in New Jersey Tugboat Accident
Last week, an 84-foot-long tugboat crashed into a construction barge near the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. The 13 crewmembers of the construction barge were not injured, but unfortunately, three of the crewmembers did not survive the tugboat accident. Three tugboats were pushing a separate barge across the Hudson River from Albany to New…
Read MoreBoater Loses His Life When He Collides With a Ferry
The Quebec River near Laval is often occupied by a 48-foot cable ferry that uses the current to navigate across the river. Last year, a pleasure craft caused a boating accident when it crashed into this ferry, and a young man lost his life and several other passengers sustained injuries. According to the report, there…
Read MoreHow Did 15 Passengers Get Injured On a North Carolina Boat?
When 159 passengers boarded a party boat in North Carolina, they were expecting a great night. Thirty minutes after the boat departed, however, many were shaken and 15 ended up sustaining injuries when the vessel slammed into a pier. A Coast Guard investigation showed that the steering pump failed, which caused the 120-foot boat to…
Read MoreTowboat Hits St. Louis Bridge and Causes Tragedy for Worker
A worker who was assigned the job of sandblasting a Mississippi River bridge was killed when a towboat hit the scaffolding he was working from last year. The worker was performing maintenance on the Eads Bridge in St. Louis when the towboat struck. The worker fell and landed on the deck of the boat with…
Read MoreHow Did This Mississippi River Towboat Lose Control?
Late last year, a mariner who worked on a Mississippi River towboat lost his life when the boat capsized and sank during a spell of unusually high water and fast current near St. Louis. The Coast Guard was unable to recover the worker’s body for a month. The towboat was getting ready to move barges…
Read MoreNew Jersey Tugboat Crewmen Tragedy Occurs at an Oil Depot
Last October, a crewmember of a tugboat fell from a barge ladder and into the water at an oil depot in New Jersey. The 55-year-old’s body was recovered the following day by police divers. The Coast Guard is still investigating to determine if the death was caused by negligence. So far, the investigation has shown…
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