Collision of Bulk Carrier Flag Gangos with Oil Tanker Pamisos and Floating Pier

What Happened

At 2215 local time on August12, 2014, the outbound bulk carrier Flag Gangos collided with the berthed oil tanker Pamisos on the Mississippi River at Gretna, Louisiana. The Flag Gangos subsequently allided with a pier at the facility where the Pamisos was berthed, and the pier struck and damaged a fuel barge, WEB235, berthed behind the Pamisos. No one was injured, but about 1,200gallonsof oil that was being transferred at the time spilled from the transfer lines, and some of the oil entered the river. Damage amounts were reported as$16million for the terminal, more than $500,000 each for the Flag Gangos and the Pamisos, and about $418,000 for the fuel barge.

What We Found

​The probable cause of the accident was the delay by the Flag Gangos’ operating company in completing a mandatory upgrade to the vessel’s steering system, and failure to routinely test the steering system’s hydraulic fluid for debris as required by the manufacturer. Contributing was the failure of the steering system manufacturer to schedule and complete the mandatory upgrade.


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