John Paul Bavaret Ii News

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.