What Happened
What Happened
On July 29, 2023, about 1449 local time, the towing vessel City of Louisville was upbound on the Upper Mississippi River pushing 11 barges when it grounded near mile 42.6, about 1.4 miles south of Thebes, Illinois. The grounding damaged the hull, flooding the engine room and the machinery and aft accommodation spaces. An estimated 30 gallons of gear oil were released into the river. There were no injuries. Damage to the vessel was estimated at $2 million.
What We Found
What We Found
We determined that the probable cause of the grounding of the City of Louisville was the pilot leaving the helm unattended while operating his tow on the Mississippi River.
What We Recommended
Using Pilothouse Alerter Systems
A pilothouse alerter, when used as intended, is an effective tool that can help ensure a towing vessel operator remains awake and vigilant while on duty (and notify another crewmember if the pilothouse alarm is not acknowledged). Established procedures for the operation and use of the system should be outlined in the company safety management system and should include the time interval for reset of the alerter system, which should be set based on the vessel’s navigational risk and proximity to navigational hazards (including traffic), as well as measures to ensure the system cannot be unintentionally reset.
