Tug warned repeatedly before Miss. River collision

[UpInArms]

Source: Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - The pilot of a massive tanker involved in a collision on the Mississippi River repeatedly warns a tug boat pushing a barge to get out of the way, but no one on the smaller boat responds, according to radio transmissions released Saturday by the Coast Guard.

The July 23 wreck caused thousands of gallons of fuel to spill and shut down part of the nation's busiest inland waterway for several days. The newly released audio recordings and radar from that day show the tug boat, Mel Oliver, crossing the river in front of the tanker, Tintamara.

"Mel Oliver, come in cap, you're crossing the bottom of a ship coming at you," a Coast Guard traffic controller says.

As the pilot of the tanker becomes increasingly distressed, he calls out to the captain of the Mel Oliver again and again.

"This ain't good, man," the pilot says. Then, as the two dots on a radar intersect, he says, "We just took his tow. The barge is right in front of us and we're running it over."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080803/ap_on_re_us/mississippi_river_collision?_ylt=A9G_R3H8oJVIXAEAWxZv24cA

[Catch22Dem]

1. It definitely sounds like the tanker captain was not at fault

Really curious what was going on with that tug when the captain and steermate were on shore.