February in Review: From Bad Barges to the Bad Boards of Review to the Marine Electric and the Jones Act
We covered some ground in February. Here is a recap of posts for the month. (Note: Last post here is
Tag: NTSB
Boom! Bang! Dang! With Third World Standards, One of America’s Largest Petroleum Barge Companies Has Posed an Active Safety and Pollution Threat to New York and Texas Coasts, the Coast Guard Says
Boom First the company ran an old rusty barge to the point where vapors seeped out and it exploded killing
In Remembrance: The Marine Electric Sank 38 Years Ago This Month, Changing Maritime Safety Forever. Here’s How It Happened
The Wreck of the Marine Electric, in February 1983, triggered a series of US Coast Guard reforms that changed maritime safety forever.
The Jones Act is Dead! Long Live the Jones Act
So our latest dispatches determine with conviction that half of America’s Jones Act cargo fleet is every bit as creaky
The “Sky Captains” of the NTSB Should Own Their Own “Walk of Shame” for Decades of Inaction in Major Merchant Marine Cases
Quite rightly, the NTSB and Congress have handed the Coast Guard some sharp public “dope slaps” this past week, pointing
The Sister Ship of the SS Poet Makes One Last Voyage
When I first began covering maritime safety, I was assured that old ships could be safe ships. Which technically is
The Last Sister: The SS Matsonia Struggles On
(Note: The original article has been modified to include a veteran mariner’s point of view on the varying degrees of
Body Counts in Dive Boat and Duck Boat Tragedies Could Resolve Long Simmering Issues Between Coast Guard and NTSB Over Tougher Safety Standards for Small Passenger Vessels Used by Millions of People
The recent death tolls in dive boat and duck boat accidents may result in the NTSB and Coast Guard finally agreeing on tougher standards.
For 15 Years, the National Transportation Safety Board Has Warned the US Coast Guard That Preventive Maintenance Reforms Were Urgently Needed to Avoid Catastrophes Such as the Dive Ship “Conception”
For more than 15 years, the National Transportation Safety Board regularly has warned the US Coast Guard that it should urgently strengthen fire safety crew training and require preventive vessel maintenance programs to avoid small passenger ship fires such as the one that killed more than 30 people last week on the dive ship “Conception,” an in-depth look at NTSB records reveals.
Why Did the Dive Ship “Conception” Burn So Fast? The Express Shuttle II and the Science of “The Mother of All Bombs” May Provide Clues
How could the dive ship Conception, lost off the California coast last week, burn so hot and so quickly that