Before dawn on a late winter morning, Specialist and two other tugboats approached the site of the new Tappan Zee Bridge with a massive crane barge in tow. Specialist’s mate, then at the controls, believed his tug had enough space to clear a construction barge ahead.
He radioed that the flotilla should go left and then said “go hard left.” Automatic identification system (AIS) data shows the flotilla inching away from the construction barge, N181, after Specialist struck it at about 0500 on March 12, 2016. Specialist took on water and sank quickly in the Hudson River near Tarrytown, N.Y.
The mate, identified as Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, N.J., died along with Specialist deck hands Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, N.Y., and Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island, N.Y. The vessel was salvaged and declared a total loss.
The accident occurred after a series of problems and delays with the crane barge transit, which began more than 28 hours earlier in Albany, N.Y. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators determined inadequate manning aboard the tugs, which caused crew fatigue, was the probable cause of the accident.
“According to statements and evidence, crewmembers aboard Specialist and Realist (another tug in the flotilla) had likely not received more than four to five hours of uninterrupted sleep in at least three days leading up to the accident,” the NTSB said in its report.
The crane barge’s massive size, and the tugs’ respective positions alongside the barge, also obstructed the operators’ views, according to the NTSB.
The $4 billion Tappan Zee Bridge replacement began in 2013 and involved more than 100 pieces of floating equipment around the construction site. The navigation channel through the construction zone was 600 feet wide and lighted at the time of the accident.
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Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
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Casualties
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