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Tugboat firm no stranger to spills PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 04 August 2008 13:21
Pilots underlicensed in several incidents
Saturday, August 02, 2008
By Jen DeGregorio


Last week was not the first time Harvey company DRD Towing played a role in an oil spill on the Mississippi River in New Orleans with an underlicensed pilot at the helm.

Four years ago, the firm staffed a tugboat called the Mr. Craig that lost control of a barge and punctured the Eagle Memphis, unleashing 2,100 gallons of crude oil from the ship's starboard fuel tank into the river near Algiers Point. The pilot steering the tug during the 2004 spill did not have the proper license. Neither did DRD pilots involved in separate accidents on the Mississippi within the past month, although the two recent instances represent more serious licensing violations.

On July 23, a DRD-operated tugboat towing an oil-filled barge hit the chemical tanker Tintomara, dumping more than 400,000 gallons of fuel and prompting the Coast Guard to halt marine traffic for nearly a week.

That tugboat, the Mel Oliver, was piloted by an apprentice mate. Eleven days earlier, a DRD apprentice mate also was piloting the Ruby E tug when it sank after colliding with the Martin Challenger. In both instances, a master-licensed pilot should have been at the helm.

Another underlicensed pilot named Richie Zito was involved in the 2004 crash, although he was more qualified than the DRD operators involved in the other two accidents.

Coast Guard documents reveal that Zito held a master's license to operate vessels up to 100 tons, but the Mr. Craig was a 129-ton boat. The Coast Guard fined DRD $3,000 for putting an improperly licensed pilot at the helm of the Mr. Craig and issued a letter of warning to Zito, documents show.

The accident caused $150,000 in damage to the Eagle Memphis and $5,000 in damage to the Mr. Craig. The spill "was immediately contained and clean-up efforts were conducted," according to the report.

News accounts of the incident said the Coast Guard closed the Mississippi from 3 to 5 p.m. after the vessels crashed at 1:30 p.m. on July 29, 2004. News reports also indicate that St. Bernard Parish shut down its water-intake pipe, which pulls water from the Mississippi, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the day of the accident.

After the July 23 spill, Coast Guard officials closed the river to marine traffic for six days, and complications continue even today as crews struggle to remove the wrecked barge from the waters near the Crescent City Connection.

Because it occurred so close on the heels of the Ruby E's sinking, the Mel Oliver incident spurred Coast Guard officials to raid 12 boats in DRD's fleet on Wednesday and check credentials aboard.

The Coast Guard found no safety violations with the crew, according to spokesman Mike O'Berry.

But DRD is facing other troubles. The American Waterways Association is threatening to revoke or suspend its membership because the company failed a May safety audit required every three years by the national trade association for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

O'Berry said the Coast Guard is still investigating the Mel Oliver and Ruby E incidents, but he could provide no new information on either front.

Further details could emerge on Aug. 12, when crew and witnesses of the Ruby E sinking are expected to testify at federal hearings tentatively scheduled at the Hale Boggs Federal Building in New Orleans.

. . . . . . .

Staff writer Meghan Gordon contributed to this report. Jen DeGregorio can be reached at 504.826.3495 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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