The captain of a 29-foot towboat went missing on Wednesday and was later found dead after issuing a distress call that his vessel was taking west of Pocasset, Mass. near Buzzards Bay.

Watchstanders from the Sector Southeastern New England command center said they received the call at approximately 1 a.m. from the captain of the TowBoat U.S. vessel, Triple J.

A 25-foot Response Boat from Station Cape Cod Canal, a 41-foot utility boat from Station Woods Hole and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tigershark were immediately launched to search for the captain.  Hours later at around 6 a.m a harbor master from Wareham, Mass., found the Triple J partially submerged approximately three miles south of Hog Island Channel.  At first the vessel was thought to be unmanned when it was found.

Later Wednesday the Coast Guard issued a statement that the captain had been found deceased in the cabin of the Triple J by a team of divers.

“Sadly, accidents like these are a very real danger of working on the water,” said Lt. Daniel Tanksley, a command duty officer at the 1st Coast Guard District Command Center. “In the wake of tragedies like this, we urge mariners to recognize these dangers, operate safely, and be prepared for the worst.”

Towboat U.S., or BoatUS, provides access to the largest network of on-the water commercial towing companies offering towing service, 24-hour dispatch, fuel delivery and jump starts to membership of recreational boaters (think AAA).

Photo shows the oil tanker Dubai Star, right, loading bunker fuel from the barge, center, at approximately 6:30 a.m. when an oil spill took place early Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. The accident was in San Francisco Bay about two miles south of the Bay Bridge. The other vessel, the Sebarok Spirit, left, was not involved. Photo Credit: Lance Iversen / The Chronicle

San Francisco District Attorney, George Gascón, told the media that the owners of the Dubai Star oil tanker had to pay $1.96 million for a 2009 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay that impacted more than 200 acres and killed some 100 seabirds.

About 75 percent of that cash, which will be divided among San Francisco, Oakland, and the California Department of Fish and Game, covers the cost of the damages, including restoring wildlife habitat and recreation areas. The rest of the sum will pay off civil penalties.

The DA’s complaint, which also included Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, charged South Harmony Shipping of Panama with violating the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act and the Fish & Game Code.

The ships problems began at about 6:00 a.m. when a fueling barge pulled up beside the Dubai Star to pump bunker oil into its tank. The ships were stationed 2 1/2 miles south of the Bay Bridge when at about 6:48 a.m. the vessel spilled 422 gallons of bunker fuel into the bay during refueling operations creating an oil slick that was at least 3 miles long and spreading .

Several observers said there was a long gap between the time the spill was first reported and the time booms were placed around the ship.

According to the DA’s complaint, a cascade of human and mechanical errors took place.

The complaint claims that the bunker oil overflowed out of the tank, onto the deck, and into the bay because a valve failed to close after a crew member turned the wheel that was supposed to close it. Another crew member overseeing tank levels from the control room “inexplicably failed to notice on his computer monitor” that the levels had exceeded capacity.

There were two alarms set up to go off when this happened, and neither of them sounded. Nobody on board noticed the ship’s deck filling up with oil until more than 400 gallons had spilled. The captain of the ship did not notify any federal or state authorities until about 30 minutes after the accident, which leaked between 400 and 800 gallons of oil and took seven months to clean.

The spill coated beaches in Alameda County and killed an estimated 186 birds.

Officials said most of the settlement money will be used to restore wildlife habitat and enhance public recreation.

Sources:

San Francisco Chronicle
SF Weekly Blog

Maritime attorneys, Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. work with Jones Act clients all along the Gulf Coast and throughout the nation. We are the leading offshore injury law firm representing victims of the BP, Transocean Deepwater Horizon disaster, along with assisting businesses that were damaged by the impact of the Gulf oil spill. For more information, talk to an expert maritime lawyer 24/7 at 800.773.6770.

Three crewmembers of a Seattle-based fishing trawler had to be medevaced after being exposed to an ammonia leak while fishing in Alaskan waters Thursday.

According to the Coast Guard report, personnel from Coast Sector Anchorage received a report at appoximately 12:38 p.m. on Thurday of an ammonia leak aboard the 218-foot F/V Alaska Juris, resulting in exposure to three crewmembers.

The Coast Guard responded, sending two helicopters, an airplane and a cutter to the location of the vessel, which at the time was about 80 miles north of Cold Bay in the Bearing Sea.  Once on scene, one of the helicopters medevaced the three ill crewman and took them to Anchorage for medical attention. The men were later reported to be in good condition.

A total of 49 people were aboard the vessel at the time of the leak.  The incident is under investigation.

Harsh environments and dangerous work conditions are nothing new for workers in Alaska’s maritime and fisheries industries, and can lead to serious injury or death.  If you find yourself injured while working aboard a fishing vessel in Alaskan waters, it is imperative you consult a Jones Act attorney who is well versed in the Fishing Vessel Safety Act.

Photo: Alaska Juris crewman offloaded from the helicopter in Cold Bay May 10, 2012.

Ride the Ducks, which operates the touring vehicles, and K-Sea Transportation Partners, which owned the tug that pushed a 250-foot barge into the duck boat in July 2010, also will pay $2 million to be split among the 18 duck boat passengers who survived, the Inquirer reports.

The two victims who died in the 2010 Philadelphia duck boat crash on the Delaware River were 20-year old Szabolcs Prem and 16-year old Dora Schwendtner. Both drowned when they, along with more than three dozen fellow passengers, were thrown into the river’s icy waters.

The Inquirer said their parents attended the first two days of the trial, which started Monday, but returned to Hungary on Wednesday and were not available for comment.

Posted by tugboat injury lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP

O’Leary was presumed to have fallen overboard, prompting the USCG to launch a search-and-rescue operation.  Unfortunately the search did not turn up anything and was called off after about a day.  Reports at the time said that winds were blowing up to 25 miles per hour and waves were cresting up to 6 feet when O’Leary went missing.

The Coast Guard said O’Leary may not have been wearing a life jacket when he fell overboard.  He was found floating about four miles south of Montauk Point just before 11 a.m. Saturday by a group on a charter fishing boat.

If you find yourself injured while working aboard a tug, you want a well versed tugboat injury lawyer to be working with you so that you can get the care and compensation you need.

Mark Bellinger accused of misusing BP oil spill and county funds to buy a yacht has died of suicide.

Mark Bellinger, 52, was found in Pelham, Ala. on Friday morning after a search was prompted by a suicide note found at his home.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said Bellinger was under investigation for using public funds to buy a $710,000 yacht and his $747,000 Destin home. An arrest warrant had been issued for theft in connection with Bellinger’s purchase of the house.

Two lawmakers from the panhandle, Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, sent a letter to Florida Gov. Rick Scott asking for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to join in the local investigation of the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council.

A probe into the use of BP dollars from the BP oil spill fund is also being requested by the lawmakers in the wake of some of the accusations.

“Because these funds become public funds with public accountability when they are placed in the accounts of (tourist development councils) or local governments, it is our intention to work with our colleagues in the Legislature to initiate a review by the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee of the sources and uses of such BP payments subsequent to the oil spill,” both legislators wrote.

“We believe it is essential that such a forensic audit be undertaken immediately, in full cooperation with Sheriff Ashley,” they wrote. “It is critical to determine who knew what, and when.”

The original investigation of the yacht focused on the use of county bed tax funds, which Bellinger said were going to be used in a marketing plan, according to a report in the Pensacola News Journal. But investigators say at least a portion of the money to buy the house might have come from BP oil spill funds.

Okaloosa County’s airports director, Greg Donovan, was named Saturday as interim head of the Tourist Development Council.

Source: Sunshine State News

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — Coast Guard crews from Corpus Christi were called to the Gulf Intracoastal near Rockport, TX on Monday morning to medevac an injured crewman aboard the U.S. owned and operated tugboat, Billy Burkett. 

The Coast Guard said they received the report at about 9 a.m. that at 20-year old male had been injured and required immediate medical assistance about five miles from Rockport.  The Coast Guard arrived on scene about an hour later and quickly hoisted the man aboard a Dolphin rescue helicopter and transported him to Columbia Memorial Hospital for medical care.

“We were able to get the rescue swimmer on scene quickly, and he recommended airlifting the man,” said Lt. Garret Barker, a Dolphin pilot at Air Station Corpus Christi. “I am just glad we were able to help the injured crewmember today.”

The man condition is so far unknown and he has not been identified.

The Billy Burkett is operated by Florida Marine Transporters in New Orleans, LA.

Photo: ShipSpotting.com

The Rowan EXL-1, a mobile offshore drilling unit, has reportedly been badly damaged after being struck by a tanker that had apparently lost propulsion near Port Aransas.  

According to the U.S.C.G initial statement, watchstanders at Sector Corpus Christi received a report at 7:25 a.m., that the Rowan EXL-1 and the 750-foot tanker FR8 Pride had collided in the Aransas Channel, near buoy 3.

The Rowan EXL-1 reportedly “suffered significant damage, resulting in a minor hydraulic oil leak from a damaged crane,” the USCG says.  The crew was then able to move the MODU with the help of nearby tugs further offshore and stabilized it by deploying its legs.

Meanwhile, the crew of the FR8 Pride reported flooding in a forward ballast tank, but were able to control the flooding and ground the FR8 Pride approximately two miles offshore.

No injuries have been reported so far.

The Rowan EXL-1 is a Marshall Islands-flagged jackup drilling rig that is owned and operated by Rowan.  The MODU was built by Keppel Fels at the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, TX. The vessel was delivered in 2010.

A video of an overflight of the Rowan EXL-1 can be found on the USCG website, HERE.

WATCH VIDEO

The video shows one of the ship’s crew members jumping off the vessel just seconds before it crashed, and possibly texting on his cellphone before the tragic accident.

The students, 20-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 16-year-old Szabolcs Prem, drowned when they, along with more than three dozen fellow passengers, were thrown into the river’s waters.

ABC News reports:

Wrongful death lawsuits have been filed by the two students’ families against K-Sea Transportation of East Brunswick, N.J., which operated the tugboat guiding the barge; Ride the Ducks of Norcross, Ga., which operated the tour boat; the city of Philadelphia, which owned the barge; and others, according to the Associated Press.

The video clip, part of the official record compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board in its own investigation, shows the impact of the 250-foot barge hitting the tour boat as it stood stalled in the Delaware River because of what the crew thought was an engine fire.

Brendan O’Leary, 48, was last seen around 1:30 p.m. by the crew of the New York-based 91-foot tugboat Steven-Scott, and was reported missing about an hour later. At the time of the incident, the tugboat was about nine miles south of the coast of Newport, R.I.

“We no longer have planes or boats dedicated to the search,” said Petty Officer Connie Terrell.

The Coast Guard said O’Leary may not have been wearing a life jacket when he fell overboard.

Winds were blowing at 23 to 25 mph with waves of 3- to 6-feet when the incident occurred.

The U.S.-flagged Steven-Scott tugboat was on its way to Boston on Wednesday afternoon carrying 45,000 barrels of jet fuel.