Marine Accident Brief: Contact of Towing Vessel Steve Richoux With Mardi Gras World Pier, May 7, 2018

​On May 7, 2018, about 1848 local time, the towing vessel Steve Richoux with five crewmembers was downbound on the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana, pushing six loaded cement barges when a steering system failure occurred. The pilot and the captain tried to regain steering control of the vessel. Despite their efforts, the Steve Richoux struck the Mardi Gras World pier at mile 98. No pollution or injuries were reported; estimated property damage exceeded $3 million. ​The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the contact of the Steve Richoux tow with the Mardi Gras World pier was a loss of steering control due to a recurring yet unreported problem with the vessel’s steering system.

• Record URL:
  https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAB1915.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/MAB1915.aspx
• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Washington, DC  United States 
• Publication Date: 2019-6-19

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 9p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Crash investigation; Steering systems; Towboats; Water transportation crashes
• Geographic Terms: Mississippi River; New Orleans (Louisiana)
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01712405
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB/MAB-19/15, Accident ID: DCA18FM022
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 24 2019 10:35PM