Date: 10/9/2008 9:57 PM
By CAIN BURDEAU
Associated Press Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ A towboat was so erratic it appeared its operator “had had a stroke” as it pushed a barge into the path of a tanker before a collision that shut a major shipping waterway over the summer, the tanker’s pilot testified Thursday.
The tanker ran over the barge in July, causing the barge’s fuel tank to rupture and spill about 276,000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi River in New Orleans. The collision closed the river for six days.
Testifying during the opening day of a new round of inquiries by the Coast Guard, tanker pilot Chance Gould said the towboat cut across the river in front of his craft for no apparent reason.
He said it didn’t heed whistles, warning lights and demands over the radio to back up. Recordings of the radio traffic show that the Mel Oliver did not respond to Gould’s craft, the Tintomara.
“The way it looked to me, it looked like someone had had a stroke on the boat,” Gould said about the way the towboat, Mel Oliver, was being operated.
Lawyers for the towboat and barge owners — Jeffersonville, Ind.-based American Commercial Lines LLC. — questioned whether Gould obeyed the “rules of the road” by not allowing the towboat to cross the river. They declined comment outside the hearing.
Gould said he followed standard practice — southbound ships stick to the west bank of the river and northbound tows stick to the east — and that it is a towboat’s responsibility to communicate its intentions when it plans to cross the river in front of a ship.
A properly licensed captain was not aboard the Mel Oliver, according to the Coast Guard. Instead, it was steered by an apprentice who should have had a captain at his shoulder but didn’t, the Coast Guard has said.
So far, the operator of the Mel Oliver, John Paul Bavaret II, has not given his side of the story. He has been present at the proceedings but he, like other witnesses, has been barred from speaking about it before he testifies. Bavaret doesn’t have a lawyer.
There is no indication that alcohol, drugs or health issues caused the accident.
The accident has raised serious questions about the towboat industry’s licensing system and the Coast Guard has been pressed by Congress to develop stricter regulations. No one was injured in the accident.
The in-depth Coast Guard proceeding that’s expected to last several more days serves as an evidence gathering tool after serious maritime accidents.
Once the hearing is over, the presiding officer, Lt. Cmdr. Melissa J. Harper, will issue recommendations on steps that can be taken to prevent future accidents like this one.
She could also recommend civil and criminal penalties against the people and companies involved. If criminal charges are filed, they would be handled by federal prosecutors.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.