The US National Transportation Safety Board, released about the accident that took place on the evening of June 7, 2017, with the unmanned crane barge Troy McKinney. The crane broke free from its mooring and struck overhead power lines crossing the Harvey Canal in Harvey, Louisiana. No pollution or injuries were reported. Damage to the crane barge was not important, but damage to the power lines totaled about $440,000.
The incident
The crane barge Troy McKinney was used in heavy lift and salvage operations. After completing lift work on May 16, 2017, the crew of tugboat Tuscaloosa moved the Troy McKinney to a temporary dock on the Harvey Canal. The Tuscaloosa crew and shipyard personnel tied up the Troy McKinney with three mooring lines to the shore and two mooring lines to another barge north of the Troy McKinney. On May 21, the other barge was moved, and the Troy McKinney was left with the three lines to shore.
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About half a mile south of the Chet Morrison facility, high-voltage power cables crossed the canal.
On June 1, the president of McKinney Salvage and Heavy Lift – the company that owned the Troy McKinney – boarded the barge and raised the crane boom so that photos could be taken with it in the topped position and so that shipyard personnel could paint an inaccessible another mooring line to shore, in addition to the three lines.
According to AIS data, the towboat Gail Cecilia, pushing ahead the tank barge Gonsoulin 127, passed the Troy McKinney at a speed of about 4.8 knots. The tow was going from north to south, and the draft of the Gonsoulin 127 was 9 feet 6 inches. A video from a towboat three tenths of a mile away showed that, shortly after the Gail Cecilia tow passed, the Troy McKinney started to break away from the berth. The Troy McKinney’s stern moved away from the berth first and then the rest of the barge moved off the berth and drifted south. Minutes later, the video showed flashes in the direction of the barge and the power lines.
After the accident, investigators noticed the crane after it had been moved back to the Chet Morrison facility and noted that the barge was moving forward and aft despite no marine traffic in the area and not enough wind. The boom had been lowered at the time of this observation.
Probable cause
After conducting an investigation on the incident, the US National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crane barge Troy McKinney striked the power lines because of its improper mooring arrangement. The mooring arrangement was not able to prevent the barge from excessive movement and thus it broke away.
