Philly.com
Posted on Sun, Jul. 11, 2010
Probe shifts to tugboat crew
Feds to grill captain, 4 others after accident.
By Jennifer Lin
Inquirer Staff Writer
After interviewing the crew and several passengers from the fatal tourist-craft accident on the Delaware River, federal investigators shifted their attention Saturday to the captain and crew of the tugboat that transported the barge that ran over the duck-tour vessel.
A team from the National Transportation Safety Board began its investigation Friday. Investigators questioned the duck craft's captain, a deckhand, and 16 survivors.
Investigators were scheduled to interview the Caribbean Sea tugboat captain, the first mate, and three others, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said. K-Sea Transportation owns the tugboat. Holloway did not disclose the name of the captain. As of late Saturday, Holloway said that he did not know whether all five had completed their interviews.
The agency likely would not have any new information for the public earlier than Monday, Holloway said.
Investigators would be asking crew members about procedures, what they saw, and where they were positioned at the time of the July 7 accident, Holloway said.
A maritime-safety expert, Doug Dillon, said the NTSB probably would focus on three issues:
Where the tugboat captain was at the time of the accident.
Whether he was monitoring Channel 13, a ship-to-ship channel, as well as the emergency Channel 16.
Whether there was a lookout on the barge or tugboat.
Dillon, executive director of the Camden-based Tri-state Maritime Safety Association, said the Coast Guard requires all types of vessels - from recreational boats to tankers - to have someone on duty to look and listen for danger to avoid hitting other vessels.
After interviews Friday, the NTSB disclosed that the duck-vessel captain, Gary Fox, said he tried in vain to send a distress signal to the tugboat. However, he also confirmed that an airhorn that could have been used to warn other river traffic was not working.
The accident took the lives of two Hungarian tourists and forced the operator of the tourist craft - Ride the Ducks of Atlanta - to temporarily shut down operations elsewhere.
But on Saturday, the company announced that it would resume operations in Atlanta; Branson, Mo.; and San Francisco. A location in Newport, Ky. was to open shortly.
The Philadelphia operations, however, will remain closed until further notice "out of respect to the families," according to the company.
"While we are completely confident in our standard operating procedures, we felt it was appropriate to review procedures and vehicles at each of our company-owned locations," said Chris Herschend, president of Ride the Ducks.
Company inspections "confirmed our vessels are safe," Herschend said, adding that operating and training standards "meet or exceed" Coast Guard or local requirements. The amphibious vehicles, which take tours along streets and into the water, are inspected twice daily "with extensive maintenance checks," Herschend said.
Company spokesman Bob Salmon could not comment, he said, on the NTSB's information that the duck craft's airhorn could not be used because it was not working.
"The NTSB has asked us not to comment on their investigation," Salmon said.
The captain of the duck craft has told the NTSB that the airhorn worked in the morning when he checked the boat before going out.
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Inquirer staff writer Mark Fazlollah contributed to this article.
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