NTSB: Mississippi Towboat Grounded When Pilot Took a Bathroom Break
A Mississippi River towboat went aground and sustained hull damage because the pilot left the helm for five minutes, according to the NTSB. It adds to a long line of human-error casualties on the Mississippi, where there is little room for error given the close quarters, strong currents and hidden shoals.
On July 29, 2023, towboat City of Louisville was under way on the Mississippi near Thebes, Illinois pushing a tow of 11 empty hopper barges. The overall length of the tow was nearly 740 feet long. The pilot - a 24-year veteran of the towing industry - took over the watch at 1100 hours, and the tow proceeded upriver at a leisurely speed of about four knots. River conditions were low, with the nearest river gage registering 7.4 feet.
At about 1442, the pilot got up and walked over to the port side of the wheelhouse, where he "relieved himself into a bag" while looking out the port side window. Once done, he threw the bag overboard and returned to the helm, arriving back at his position at about 1447, he told investigators.
During the five minutes he was away from the controls, City of Louisville missed a turn and began passing west of her intended trackline. By 1447, the towboat was 95 yards too far to the west and headed about 10 degrees to port of the intended course.
The pilot put the rudders hard over 30 degrees to starboard, and the head of the tow began to swing. At the same time, the stern swung to port, further towards the west. The towboat - which was drawing about six feet more water than the empty barges - grounded on a rocky shoal at a position about 150 yards to the west of the intended trackline.
The hull of the towboat was breached in the grounding, and the engine room began to flood. The tow remained intact, but the towboat settled further in the water, and the crew could not move it off the rocks.
Damage to City of Louisville's bottom plating (NTSB)
At about 1800 hours, an incoming thunderstorm prompted the crew to abandon ship, with assistance from first responders. Heavy rainfall caused the river stage to gradually rise, flooding the towboat's rudder compartment and the mess area.
City of Louisville was refloated and towed off for repairs in August, and inspections found that large sections of the bottom plating were badly damaged. The total cost of repairs came to more than $2 million. The vessel was later resold, then scrapped.
According to NTSB, City of Louisville had a pilothouse alerter system that was designed to set off an alarm if the pilot did not move the rudder controls for a set period of time, adjustable between about 1.5 minutes and 10 minutes. NTSB only learned of the casualty seven weeks after the fact, and when agency inspectors finally arrived, they found that the power adapter for the alerter system was missing.
The last recorded check of the alerter occurred in January 2023, and the pilot told investigators that he was not aware that it existed; he had never heard it go off. NTSB could not determine whether the system was working at the time of the casualty, nor what time interval it may have been set for.
"A pilothouse alerter, when used as intended, is an effective tool that can help ensure a towing vessel operator remains awake and vigilant while on duty," NTSB advised. "Established procedures for the operation and use of the system should be outlined in the company safety management system and should include the time interval for reset of the alerter system."