Master Charged with Operating Ship While Intoxicated
The Greek master of a commercial ship pleaded guilty and was charged Thursday with operating his vessel while intoxicated. Nikolaos Zografos was charged before a U.S. magistrate judge with being drunk while aboard the 580-foot freight ship Winner at St. John's Buoys, near Reserve, La. Zografos pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to one-year probation, restriction from being a master or licensed officer on any vessel in U.S. waters for the duration of his probation and received a $5,500 fine. On Oct. 28, contract workers cleaning cargo holds aboard Winner informed the Coast Guard that the master appeared intoxicated. Lt. Boris…
Coast Guard to Investigate Tanker Collision
The Coast Guard is scheduled to convene a one-person formal investigation to look into events leading up and contributing to the collision between two tank ships at mile 178 of the Lower Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, La. The collision occurred May 19 when the crews of the southbound motor vessel Stolt Zulu and the northbound motor vessel Bow Fortune tried to pass each other at 81 Mile Bend, a sharp curve in the river. As a result of the collision, the Bow Fortune sustained a 28-ft. gash in the port bow while the Stolt Zulu sustained inset side shell and damaged guard rails to the port side. "This was a significant accident that could have been avoided," said Capt. Frank Paskewich, commander of Coast Guard Sector New Orleans.
