On February 10, 2024, about 1855 local time, the towing vessel Tom Frazier was pushing 15 empty hopper barges upbound on the Ohio River, near Portsmouth, Ohio, when the vessel grounded on a submerged jetty while maneuvering to meet a downbound tow. The nine crewmembers aboard the towboat were safely evacuated to shore. There were no injuries. An estimated 5 gallons of oil were released from the Tom Frazier. Damage to the vessel was $258,737.
We determined that the probable cause of the grounding of the towing vessel Tom Frazier on submerged jetties was the captain maneuvering his tow too close to the bank in order to avoid a downbound tow, and not identifying the hazard posed by the charted jetties.
