Louisiana Tugboat-Oil Barge Accident Cause Traced to Captain's Romance Troubles
A tugboat - oil tanker accident that occurred early in July 2008 in Louisiana's New Orleans Harbor can be blamed on the captain's rocky love life. There were no injuries in the maritime accident involving the tugboat Mel Oliver, but it did cause a massive oil spill in the Mississippi River.
The accident occurred on July 23rd when the tugboat being piloted by John Bavaret III turned abruptly in the path of the oil tanker, Tintomara. The tanker collided with the fuel oil-containing barge being towed by the Mel Oliver. The accident resulted in the barge being split in two, and more than 280,000 gallons of fuel oil spilling into the waters of the Mississippi River. The spill took days to clean, and the busy river channel was shut down for at least six days while crews worked on containing the oil spill.
As investigations now show, Bavaret who was piloting at the time of the tugboat accident was the apprentice mate of Terry Carver, the captain of the tugboat. Apparently, Carver testified that on the 20th of July, he had received a telephone call from his nephew telling him that he had seen Carver's girlfriend with another man. That was all it took for the lovesick captain to abandon his plans for piloting the tugboat, and rush after his lady. He left the piloting duties to his apprentice mate. Bavaret did not have a master's license, and was ill equipped to pilot the boat. The accident had disastrous environmental effects, although it did not cause any serious injuries. Carver kept in contact with the tugboat on cell phone, with a deckhand giving him information about the accident when it occurred.
Tugboat Accidents
The Mel Oliver-Tintamora accident resulted in an expensive clean up of the Mississippi River and massive business losses, as the channel was shut down to allow clean up operations. It was extremely fortunate that none of the crew members aboard the tugboat or the oil tanker were injured in the accident. Serious injuries were a very real possibility in this maritime accident. As is now obvious, nobody aboard the tugboat had a master's license to operate the boat. Maritime law requires that only a crew member with a master's license pilot a tugboat.
The Jones Act offers seamen a number of rights that protect them in the event of injuries caused by maritime accidents. Under the Act, a seaman is eligible for compensation from his employer, not only when an accident is caused by the employer's failure to provide safe working conditions, but also when the negligence of a crew member causes the accident. The Mel Oliver story isn’t yet complete, and it's not certain who approved and allowed the tugboat to be piloted by an unlicensed apprentice mate, but one thing we know for sure – there was negligence toward the safety of the Mel Oliver and its crew.
When a maritime accident is caused by the negligence of fellow crew members, a Jones Act seaman may seek the help of a maritime lawyer to obtain compensation for his injuries.
If you have been injured in a maritime accident, contact the experienced Jones Act maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free consultation. We can answer your questions and help you understand your options for seeking compensation for your injury.
