NTSB released its report on the ground of the towing vessel Eric Haney, on the Mississippi River, on July 8, 2017. When the vessel ran aground all crewmembers climbed aboard one of the empty barges without any reported injuries. The barges broke free, and the Eric Haney partially sank. Minimal oil sheening was noted after the sinking.
The incident
On July 8, the Eric Haney left Paducah, Kentucky, with nine crewmembers (a captain, a pilot, a mate, an engineer, a cook, and four deckhands). The plan was to transport empty barges to St. Louis, Missouri, making stops along the way to offload and pick up barges.
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The Eric Haney was sailing upriver along the left descending bank, as confirmed by the ECS. As the boat proceeded upriver along the left descending bank at about 6 mph, the pilot felt the boat strike something and stop abruptly.
He stopped the engines and then put them in reverse, but the vessel did not move. The captain came to the wheelhouse and stated that he thought the vessel was on a dike. When the captain zoomed in the view on the ECS display, the dikes appeared larger on the screen.
The captain and pilot made sure that all crewmembers were accounted for. After determining that the towboat was taking on water in the forward hold, the pilot contacted nearby vessels to inform them of the ingress of water and made a distress call to the US Coast Guard.
Crewmembers started pumps to remove the water, but the pumps could not keep up with the flow. All crewmembers boarded one of the barges, which were still attached to the Eric Haney. A few minutes later, the current freed the Eric Haney and its barges from the dike, and they drifted downriver. About an hour and a half later, a towboat came.
After the crew of the Eric Haney climbed onto the assisting towboat, the other vessel pushed the sinking Eric Haney into the right descending bank. The vessel continued to take on water and partially sank, but the bridge and part of the stern remained above the water. The barges broke free and were later recovered.
The Eric Haney was brought to the surface by a salvage team on July 22 and drydocked later that day for inspection and repairs.
Probable cause
After conducting an investigation into the incident, NTSB determined that the probable cause of the grounding and sinking of the Eric Haney was the pilot’s failure to identify a charted navigation hazard during towing operations.
Recommendations
NTSB noted that:
Mariners using electronic chart systems (ECS) should be aware that aids to navigation, hazards, and other map features may not be represented on the displays at certain range scales. Mariners should use appropriate range scales for their routes on ECS displays to identify potential hazards while navigating.
See more details in the following PDF
