Mel Oliver News

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) said it has been cleared of any fault related to the 2008 Mel Oliver collision and resulting oil spill on the Mississippi River.The announcement comes after more than 13 years of legal proceedings and is the result of a settlement agreement reached on November 18, 2021, with the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Louisiana regarding the case.It was determined that fault for the collision and resulting oil spill belongs to Harvey…

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.

DRD Towing Company, LLC., a marine company located in Harvey, Louisiana, was sentenced in federal court by U. S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to two years probation for violation of Ports and Waterways Safety Act and a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and a $200,000 fine, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Randall Dantin, age 46, a resident of Marrero, Louisiana and co-owner of DRD Towing, was sentenced to twenty-one months imprisonment in a separate charge of obstruction of justice. Dantin was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and serve two years supervised release during which time he will be under federal supervision and risks additional imprisonment should he violate any terms of the release.

DRD Towing Company, LLC., a marine company located in Harvey, La., pled guilty in federal court on Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to a felony violation of Ports and Waterways Safety Act and a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition, Randall Dantin, age 46, a resident of Marrero, La. and co-owner of DRD Towing also pled guilty to a separate charge of obstruction of justice. According to the court documents, DRD Towing Company, LLC. pled guilty to creating hazardous conditions by (1) assigning employees without proper Coast Guard licenses to operate certain vessels…

The Eighth Coast Guard District recently completed Operation Big Tow, a three-month long effort designed as a result of a collision between a cargo vessel and a loaded oil barge on the Mississippi River that spilled more than 282,000 gallons of #6 fuel oil to spill into the river. Operation Big Tow was designed to ensure vessel operators were properly licensed for their respective vessel's size, type and route. An initial investigation into the July 23, 2008 collision that closed nearly 100 miles of river near New Orleans revealed that a crewmember operating the Mel Oliver, an uninspected towing vessel (UTV) pushing the barge was improperly licensed. UTVs are towing vessels 26 ft or longer and must be under the direction of a licensed master.

U.S Coast Guard will resume its public hearing regarding the collision on the Mississippi River that occurred July 23, 2008, between the motor vessel Tintomara and the DM932 barge and the towing vessel Mel Oliver. The hearing will resume on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. Federal Courthouse, 5th Floor, Courtroom C-501, Hale Boggs Federal Building, 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, La. 70130. The Captain of the Mel Oliver is scheduled to testify during this hearing.

Coast Guard units along the Gulf Coast, Mississippi River and Western Rivers system have begun operations to ensure towing vessels are properly manned and crews have proper licensing as part of Operation Big Tow, which is taking place from November through January. The primary objective of Operation Big Tow is to ensure towing vessels are being operated by properly licensed individuals through boardings and examinations. To minimize any impact to vessel movements or commerce by the Coast Guard by working with industry and towing vessel operators to conduct boardings and examinations at locks and dams, while vessels are tied up pier side, or through other methods that facilitate the flow of commerce while allowing examiners to check licenses and conduct safety checks.

During a Coast Guard fact-gathering hearing into the July 23 collision, John Paul Bavaret II said his towboat, the Mel Oliver, got in the way of a southbound Liberian tanker ship because he became distracted by a malfunctioning radar. (Source: Associated Press)

In this photo, released by the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Melissa Harper, investigating officer into the collision between the towing vessel Mel Oliver and motor vessel Tintomara, asks John Paul Bavaret II, steersman apprentice aboard the towing vessel Mel Oliver, questions during a formal hearing in the federal courthouse in , Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008. The hearing is being held to investigate the cause of the July 23 collision between the towing vessel Mel Oliver and the motor vessel Tintomara, which caused a barge loaded with No.

When Rear Adm. James Watson IV promised Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., at a hearing Tuesday that the Coast Guard would issue proposed rules regulating tugboats in 2009, Cummings asked Watson to repeat the pledge. The frustration with the long-delayed new rules on tugs gained new urgency this summer when an oil spill in the Mississippi River shut down shipping through . The spill has been blamed on a tugboat being operated by a company that was involved in another accident on the river 10 days earlier. It's been four year since Congress ordered the Coast Guard to create rules requiring the regular inspection of towing vessels and setting limits on the number of hours that crew members work each day.

The Coast Guard has extended the closure of the Mississippi River from mile marker 97, one mile north of the , , , to the , which expands an area of nearly 100 miles. Nearly 420,000 gallons of number 6 fuel oil spilled when an American Commercial Lines barge, which was being pushed by the tug boat Mel Oliver, and the chemical tank ship, Tintomara, collided at approximately 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. More than 45,000 feet of containment boom has been deployed by contractors. Another 45,000 feet of boom is scheduled to be deployed Thursday in the affected areas. All water intake facilities at risk have been protected by boom. Marshlands and environmentally sensitive areas have not been affected, but containment boom is being deployed.