On January 28, 2016, at 0430 local time, the uninspected towing vessel Crimson Gem was pushing 20 barges downbound during high-water conditions on the Lower Mississippi River in Ama, Louisiana, when two of its barges collided with the bulk carrier Yangtze Ambition docked at the bottom of a river bend. Damages to the vessel and the barges, including a third barge that made contact with the dock, totaled an estimated $575,000. There was no injury or pollution.
The probable cause of the collision of the Crimson Gem tow with the moored bulk carrier Yangtze Ambition was the Crimson Gem pilot’s ineffective maneuvering for the prevailing current in a river bend.
