NTSB: Cellphone Distraction Contributed To Collision With Moored Barges

A pilot’s distraction caused by personal cell phone use resulted in a collision last year with a moored barge on the Lower Mississippi River, according to a report released July 17 by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The towing vessel William B Klunk was pushing 22 loaded hopper barges on April 17, 2024, when the tow collided with moored barges at a fleeting area near Baton Rouge. Thirteen barges broke away from the William B Klunk tow, and three barges broke away from the fleeting area, resulting in damage to the barges, a fleet crew boat and two mooring dolphins. The collision resulted in one minor injury and estimated damages of $810,000.

The pilot reported using his personal cell phone during the transit. In the almost six minutes leading up to the collision, the pilot did not make any rudder or throttle adjustments as the tow moved toward the fleeting area.

The onboard image recorder system footage showed the pilot using his personal cell phone and not monitoring the tow’s position 40 seconds before the collision.

While navigating the tow for about 1.5 hours before the collision, the pilot engaged in nonoperational, secondary tasks, including taking an administrative phone call from the company’s safety officer, making a personal phone call and sending text messages.

“Use of cell phones, including company cell phones (particularly for nonoperational conversations), should never interfere with a watchstander’s primary task to safely navigate a vessel and maintain a proper lookout,” the report said. “To reduce the risk of cell phone distraction, operating companies should establish protocols regarding both personal and work-related cell phone use, and vessel personnel should understand the importance in following them.”

However, cell phone use alone was not the only contributor to the collision. Investigators determined the pilot’s fatigue due to limited sleep the night before contributed as well. The pilot had received about four hours of continuous sleep in the 36 hours before the collision. The pilot’s fatigue was due to his being up nearly 18 hours at the time of the collision.

“The risk of distraction increases when an individual is fatigued,” the report said. “Fatigue’s impacts to attention, vigilance and multi-tasking can increase the likelihood that an individual will disengage from their primary task and become distracted by a secondary task.”

The William B Klunk is a twin-screw boat built in 1998 by Quality Shipyards at Houma, Ala. It is 180 feet long and 48 feet wide and is powered by EMD 16-71G7B II diesel engines, with Reintjes reduction gears and Kort nozzles. It was formerly named the Christopher M. Parsonage and was operated by Memco Barge Line Inc. It was sold in 2019 to HFS Marine LLC, Nashville, Tenn. It was sold again in December 2021 and renamed by First Horizon Bank of Memphis, Tenn. It is currently operated by American Commercial Barge Line LLC, Memphis, Tenn.

Marine Investigation Report 25-26 is available online.