NTSB: Towboat Pilot Left Helm Unattended Before Grounding
The pilot of the towboat mv. City of Louisville left the helm unattended, leading to a 2023 grounding that caused an estimated $2 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board determined.
No one was injured. An estimated 30 gallons of gear oil were released into the river.
The City of Louisville was upbound on the Mississippi River pushing 11 empty hopper barges July 29, 2023, when it ran aground at Mile 42.6, 1.4 miles south of Thebes, Ill., in a charted shallow and rocky area. The 138-foot vessel was owned by Ceres Tank Barge LLC and was being operated by Reliant Maritime Solutions LLC.
The pilot told investigators he had 24 years of experience in the towing industry. He had been employed by Reliant Maritime Solutions since July 24, five days before the grounding, he said. He was alone on watch in the wheelhouse and told investigators he left the helm and went to the port side of the wheelhouse for about five minutes.
There were no witnesses to the events immediately leading up to and including the grounding, according to the NTSB.
While the City of Louisville was fitted with a pilothouse alerter system, it did not sound. Several weeks later, investigators found that the power supply to it was missing. They were unable to determine when it had been disconnected.
The City of Louisville was on its way from the Nucor Steel Arkansas terminal at Lower Mississippi Mile 823.7, destined for a fleet on the Upper Mississippi River at Mile 126, near St. Genevieve, Mo.
About 11 a.m. July 29, the pilot took over the helm from the captain for the normally scheduled watch change. The pilot told the investigators he left the helm about 2:42 p.m. after looking out the front window of the wheelhouse and noticing there was no swing of the tow. Two minutes later, the tow passed a point where the sailing line changed from 347 degrees to 356 degrees. The pilot estimated he returned to the helm about 2:47 p.m.
According to the report, “He noticed the tow was making a ‘sharp’ turn to port, which he attempted to correct by putting the steering rudders to 30 degrees to starboard. (No change was made to the propulsion control levers.) The head of the tow began to swing to starboard. The stern swung to port in the direction of the right descending bank.”
The vessel grounded at 2:49 p.m. in a rocky area about 150 yards west of the sailing line. It was reported to have about 8 feet of draft at the time. The lower engineroom flooded.
About three hours later, a thunderstorm moved through the area, requiring both the crew and those responding to the grounding to evacuate the vessel.
“Winds from the storm moved the tow to starboard, causing it to pivot on the rocks,” the report said.
As the river rose, the water level inside the engine room increased, and the main deck rudder room and aft galley/mess area also flooded.
The City of Louisville was refloated and towed to a repair yard before being sold to another company and eventually scrapped.
Marine Investigation Report 25-19 is available online at https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2519.pdf.
