(WASHINGTON) — On Dec. 29, 2024, about 1934 local time, the towing vessel Patrick J Studdert and bulk carrier Clara B collided while underway on the Lower Mississippi River at mile 122 near Luling, La. Patrick J Studdert sank, forcing all five crewmembers to abandon the vessel into the water.
A sheen of diesel fuel was visible downriver. The crew of Patrick J Studdert were rescued by a nearby vessel; four crewmembers sustained minor injuries. Patrick J Studdert was considered a total constructive loss valued at over $2.3 million. Clara B sustained minor damage to its hull, estimated at $250,000 to repair.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the collision was the Patrick J Studdert captain’s distraction due to his cellphone use. This resulted in him not maintaining a proper lookout and navigating the towing vessel directly into the path of the upbound Clara B.
Lessons learned
Non-operational use of cellphones and other personal electronic devices by on-duty crewmembers in safety-critical positions has been a factor in casualties and accidents in all transportation modes. Using cellphones and other personal electronic devices has been demonstrated to be visually, manually and cognitively distracting. Non-operational use of cellphones should never interfere with the primary task of a watch stander or a bridge team member to maintain a proper lookout.
“Although the captain stated he did not use his personal cellphone, phone records indicate he made an outgoing call beginning about 1931, just before getting underway at 1932. The call lasted until 1935, moments after the collision, meaning he was on the phone the entire time he was operating the vessel to transit across the river,” the NTSB said in its report. “The operating company’s TSMS allowed crewmembers to use a personal cellphone if it did not distract from navigating. However, when an operator engages in non-navigational or secondary tasks, such as making a call on a cellphone, there is a risk that performance of the primary task will suffer or that the operator will become distracted from their primary task of navigation (which can persist even after the secondary task ends, in the form of cognitive distraction).”
Click here to read the complete report.
– National Transportation Safety Board
