BARGE HITS RAILWAY BRIDGE AS TUG
MANEUVERS TO AVOID SAILBOAT

Source: By David Taylor, Professional Mariner Magazine.
Emphasis is ours.

A barge struck a railroad bridge in Connecticut on Sept. 9
(2006) as the tug accompanying the barge took emergency
measures to avoid hitting a sailboat passing under the raised
drawbridge.

The accident occurred at about 1330 as the 1,950-hp
Moran tug TURECAMO GIRLS was heading south towing
the empty 310-foot barge CONNECTICUT. The barge hit the
bridge after the tugboat captain released it from its towline in
an attempt to avoid hitting a northbound sailboat under power
that was transiting the Old Lyme drawbridge. After the barge
was released by the tug, it dropped an anchor but still struck
wooden fenders protecting the bridge, which connects Old
Lyme and Old Saybrook.

The bridge’s northeast fender system was destroyed, but
there were no injuries, according to Karina Romero, a
spokeswoman for Amtrak. The bridge had to be inspected
and rail traffic was suspended for about two hours. The river
was closed to traffic until that evening so divers could clear
the channels.

The drawbridge is lowered and raised by an operator who
communicates with vessel crews via VHF channel 13. From
mid-May to mid-October, the bridge is generally in the open
position, unless an Amtrak train is approaching, according to
Scott F. Masse, president of Oak Leaf Marina of Old
Saybrook, located one-quarter mile upriver from the
drawbridge. Masse drove the Old Saybrook police boat to the
scene of the collision.

Masse heard radio calls from TURECAMO GIRLS pleading
with the sailboat to get out of its way as it approached the bridge.
"You could hear him saying, “You guys get out my way,” Masse
said. The tug asked the boat by name to move. In addition, the
tug gave five blasts on its horn, Masse said.
Masse said visibility was unlimited that day and that sight
lines were good. At the time, the tide was ebbing, Masse said,
creating a very strong downriver current under the bridge.
The drawbridge opening is about 100 feet wide.
"It was very much like a car trying to beat a red light; they
(the sailboat) decided they were going to go through the draw.
These guys just didn't yield to him," Masse said. By that point,
the tug was committed. "His choice was to run them over and
kill them or try to turn the tug around. They made the valiant
effort to give themselves up."

The barge was being towed quite close to the tug. To avoid
striking the sailboat, the tug released the tow, the barge dropped
an anchor off the bow, and the tug went to the rear of the barge.
"What they did, in my opinion, saved lives," said Masse.
The Connecticut River has a tremendous amount of
recreational traffic and not much commercial traffic, Masse said.
Common sense would dictate that the sailboat yield to the
tugboat and tow, he said. "If you're staring down a tug and a
barge, the smart guy is going to say, `I'm going to wait. until it
goes through; I’m not going to play chicken with a tug.”
Rule 9 of the COLREGS governing narrow channels would
apply in this situation, according to Capt. Ralph Pundt chair of
the Marine Transportation Department at Maine Maritime
Academy. While under power, a sailboat considered a power
vessel. He said the rule that applies is 9d: "A vessel shall not
cross a narrow passage or a fairway if such crossing impedes
the passage of a vessel which can safely navigate only within
such channel or fairway." In addition, Rule 9b also states that a
vessel less than 20 meters long or a sailing vessel, shall not
impede the passage of a vessel, which can only navigate in that
channel. "If he is less than 20 meters, he doesn’t, have the right
of way," Pundt said.

The barge was extricated from the fenders by the tug and
the bridge was determined to be safe by 20:10, according to
Romero. All of Amtrak’s moveable bridges between Boston
and Washington, D.C., have fender systems to protect them,
she said. In early October, workers were still replacing the
fender system. The double-hulled oil barge was not damaged,
according to Ted Tregurtha, president of Moran Towing Corp.
He praised the five crew and river pilot on the tugboat and
the two crew on the barge for their response." They took all the
appropriate action to a recreational boater who was not in right
place in the right time," Tregurtha, said. "It's unfortunate that
the bridge was struck, but more importantly, the recreational
boaters were not injured. They probably will never know how
lucky they were."

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