[seadog] Mate left tug helm empty
- From: James Scalli <mma90@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: seadog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 13:49:35 -0800 (PST)
Mate left tug helm empty, U.S. says
Criminal charges accompany $10 million fine levied
against Bouchard Transportation Co.
By AMANDA LEHMERT
STAFF WRITER
NEW BEDFORD - The mate of the tugboat Evening Tide
left the helm unmanned for an "extended period of
time" and allowed the barge it towed to strike rocks
on the day of the 55,000-gallon oil spill in Buzzards
Bay last April, according to U.S. Attorney Michael
Sullivan.
By not maintaining radio contact, the mate of the
tugboat, identified by the Coast Guard as Franklin
Hill, missed a warning from a passing vessel that his
barge was in danger, according to the criminal charges
filed by Sullivan in U.S. District Court in Boston
yesterday.
Hill had a history of accidents and complaints from
tug captains in the eight months he worked for
Bouchard Transportation Company, according to the
complaint.
Both Hill and Evening Tide Captain Milan Leduc have
been "discharged from the company," according to a
Bouchard spokesman.
Bouchard, owner of the tug and single-hulled barge,
entered a guilty plea for violating the Clean Water
Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by causing the
spill that fouled nearly 100 miles of coastline,
killed hundreds of birds and left shellfish beds
closed. Bouchard will fork over a record $10 million
fine and agreed to divulge its internal investigation
into the accident, Sullivan announced yesterday at a
press conference at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
The plea does not rule out civil fines or
administrative sanctions from the Coast Guard, which
could include removal of the mariner's licenses of the
crew, said Capt. Mary Landry of the Marine Safety
Office in Providence.
"Inexcusable" incident
It also does not put a cap on the cleanup costs or
reimbursements to private parties. The cleanup of the
spill has already cost the company an estimated $38
million, not counting millions of dollars in
settlements to towns, out of work fishermen or other
people affected by the spill.
"There is absolutely no question - what happened last
April in Buzzards Bay was inexcusable," said Attorney
General Thomas Reilly.
On April 27, the six-person crew of the Evening Tide
was heading from Pennsylvania to the Mirant power
plant in Sandwich pulling Bouchard Barge No. 120 with
its two crew members and 4 million gallons of No. 6
fuel oil, according to charges filed by Sullivan.
By noon that day, Hill, who has been a licensed
mariner for more than 20 years, took over the
operations of the ship while the captain went off
duty.
Around 4 p.m., the crew of the nearby tug the Carl Ray
witnessed the Evening Tide enter the bay to the west
of the first buoy, outside the marked channel and into
an area of rocky reefs.
Crew members of the Carl Ray repeatedly tried to radio
the Evening Tide to warn its crew that they were off
course, but got no response after several minutes,
according to the charges.
Hill later radioed the Carl Ray to say he was having
trouble with his tow wire, according to the documents.
When the Carl Ray captain asked Hill about his
position outside the marked channel, he got a garbled
response.
Barge No. 120 later hit a 22-foot reef on the western
side of the bay, leaking an estimated 55,000 gallons
through a 12-foot long gash.
The Coast Guard also had difficulty reaching the
Evening Tide crew that day. A Cape Cod Times
investigation of a marine radio tape recording of that
day revealed that the Coast Guard tried reach the boat
for almost 31/2 minutes with no response.
History of trouble
Before the Buzzards Bay spill, Bouchard had some
indications that Hill was trouble, Sullivan said.
Bouchard captains apparently told their superiors at
company headquarters they doubted Hill could handle a
tugboat hauling oil.
In March 2003, Hill misjudged the wind and current and
caused a barge to slam into a Philadelphia dock.
Despite complaints from Leduc, Hill continued to be
assigned to the vessel.
Hill also caused several thousand dollars worth of
damage to the Evening Tide just hours before the oil
spill. According to the charges, he improperly
released one of the tow wires of the barge, tangling
it and making it unusable.
Although damaged, the tug was still equipped to pull
the barge.
The plea agreement between Bouchard and the U.S.
Attorney's office responds to many of the missteps
taken on the day of the spill. One million dollars of
the fine will be a suspended, as long as Bouchard
meets certain requirements during a three-year
probation.
The company must hire a local pilot to guide its
single-hulled barges through local waters; maintain
radio contact; man the wheelhouse at all times; and
use navigational software that records the routes used
by Bouchard tugs and barges.
The company must also hire a consultant to manage a
compliance program and audit things like hiring
procedures for mates and captains.
In a prepared statement, Morton Bouchard, president of
the oil company, said he does not agree with all
aspects of the plea, but said it was in the best
interest of the community.
"I assure you that I personally feel your anger and
disgust about the effects of this accident, and that I
have made and will continue to make changes within
Bouchard that will help prevent the likelihood of
another such tragedy," he said in the statement.
Although the attorneys applauded the agreement for
forcing Bouchard to institute stricter safety
measures, some said they didn't go far enough.
Susan Reid, issues and policy director for the
Coalition for Buzzards Bay, said the U.S. Attorney
missed an opportunity to make Bouchard comply with
some of the more stringent regulations being debated
by legislators now.
"This settlement only includes some pieces of those
measures," she said.
The agreement does not go so far as to require the
company to use double-hulled barges while traveling
through Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal.
The plea agreement still must be accepted by a judge,
but a date for that hearing has not yet been set.
(Published: March 30, 2004)
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