Authorities Reviewing Evidence from Titan Submersible Tragedy
Authorities from the U.S., Canada and France are combing through evidence recovered from the Titan submersible that suffered a catastrophic implosion en route to the wreckage of the Titanic in June.Investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the French Marine Casualty Investigation Authority (BEAmer) conducted an onsite evidence review in Newport, R.I., on November 8, as part of their respective…
US Probe into El Faro Disaster Concludes Public Hearings
U.S. investigators stood in silence for 33 seconds on Friday as they concluded the public phase of a probe into the sinking of the El Faro cargo ship during a 2015 hurricane, recognizing each crew member aboard who died. The Coast Guard's Marine Board of Investigation, convened for the most serious accidents, heard two weeks of testimony in the last of a series of hearings on the worst disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades. Captain Jason Neubauer, the panel's chairman, said it had collected sufficient evidence for a forthcoming analysis.
Chicago Tug Grounding: Latest Update
The U.S. Coast Guard informs it continues its response to the grounded towing vessel Kimberly Selvick in Lake Michigan off of Burnahm Park. It has been determined that ten times more diesel fuel, 14,000 gallons, is on board the tugboat than originally reported. Efforts to salvage the vessel are ongoing and weather conditions are delaying a pre-salvage damage assessment of the vessel and the staging of salvage assets. Until the weather improves, the Coast Guard will continue to work with the responsible party to ensure a salvage plan is prepared and ready for execution. “Recovering the vessel safely and mitigating potential impacts to the environment are the primary concerns for the planned salvage operation,” said Capt. Jason Neubauer, commanding officer of Marine Safety Unit Chicago.
Illinois River in Flood: Dam Struck by Barges
A Unified Command of U.S. Coast Guard & the Ingram Barge Company say the Marseilles Dam is structurally sound after 7 barges broke loose nearby. On Friday night the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, providing technical assistance to the Unified Command, completed an evaluation of the dam and determined it to be structurally sound. The Main Street Bridge in Marseilles, located about 400 feet downstream of the dam, was reopened Saturday at 10:45 a.m. after flood waters began to recede and the access road to the bridge was cleared. Salvage of the barges is delayed by the continuing high flood waters and heavy river currents. “Once the river waters recede and a timeframe is established, we will notify the public and maritime interests of upcoming salvage operations,” said Cmdr.
