Did anyone catch the first day of the trial for the explosion of the barge that happened in October? It’s on livestream evidently. Any thoughts? I hope to be able to tune in today.
Give this a try https://livestream.com/USCGinvestigations - It a USCG hearing.
I’m looking forward to the NTSB report on this one.
As am I. Probably be years before the final report come out though.
From what I gather, Bouchard postpones non critical maintenance to no end. If any of that is proven to have contributed to the explosion then the red navy will incur tremendous fines and future scrutiny from CG and ABS.
They sure do. Safety is definetly at the bottom of their priority list. BTW I really dig your username.
Thanks. It’s not for everyone but I dig it.
I watched Monday’s and Today’s. That CE did not do any favors to Bouchard.
Bouchard’s Lawyers have tried to go after two Ex-Employees (that have Civil Suites filed against them) and it backfired on the both times. Today when the AE was testifying and the asked about him signing a waiver and he asked to be allowed to explain why he signed it. I thought Bouchard’s Council was going start crying (kidding) when the USCG decided to allow the AE to state his reason for signing the waiver. Sounds like Bouchard was trying to starve him out as he said they were not paying him what they owed. Well, at least until he signed the damn waiver that is! This tactic has been used for many years by Companies in NY Harbor.
I know Bouchard personally and after hearing what has been said so far and knowing what I do know, I think things are not going to end well for them.
One other thought to add, I bet that the USCG will be paying a lot more attention to Bouchard and that those pesky Sub M Inspections might be getting a lot tougher!
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I guess Morty’s yearly donations to the coast gaurd foundation aren’t going to carry much weight anymore. Or at least we can only hope they won’t.
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I’ve heard that the tankerman(s) filed MULTIPLE barge reports about a leaking tank - yes, the same leaking tank that blew up. If so, Bouchard should be punished severely, especially since loss of life occurred. IF no barge reports had been reported, I think Bouchard might be able to weasel their way out of this one. To my knowledge (and from a Captain I know at the company), paperwork stating this issue is on record. We will all find out soon enough.
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The end of today was quite a bombshell. KD, the COO, has evidently retained personal counsel (outside of Bouchard) He was supposed to be on the stand tomorrow but is delayed til next Friday. This was all in the last 2 mins of today’s video. They eluded to the fact that he had prior knowledge of the vapors being reported on the 255 before the explosion. Damn!
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Someone refresh my memory…Was it 2 guys that died in this incident or 1?
There were two Tankermen that perished. The brother of one of them will be testifying next week evidently.
Yea so I’m going to fast forward under the assumption that Bouchard is guilty – it certainly seems that way to me right now. I would say USCG needs to make a serious point that this type of negligence is unacceptable and two guys died as a direct result of the companys inaction when they knew this was a serious matter. Bouchard literally put profits over safety of life - Let’s hit these bastards hard, not slap em on the wrist. 10 years probation with strict USCG inspections, especially on all tank barges and a $60 Million fine. $30 million going to the victims families, $30 million going to USCG to find ways to educate, enforce the findings of this tragedy so it doesn’t happen again. Any leftovers can be used for training, scholarships etc. Anything less in my opinion, is just a slap on the wrist for a company of that size. You can’t afford the fine/settlement? Thank god, we were hoping you would say that. You are more than welcome to sell, these companies should be interested. Kind of like how the NBA told Donald Sterling to get out or how the NFL did the same with Jerry Richardson. These types of owners should be forced to sell out to companies who play by the rules and don’t kill innocent people trying to make an honest living. ALSO, they are accepting comments as this investigation is ongoing so you can email comments to USCG that they will take into consideration.
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If memory serves me correct Morty got a 10 million dollar personal fine for the barge that exploded on Staten Island killing 2 tankermen. Morty doesn’t belong in the buisness.
That particular explosion happened across from Manhattan in 2003. Keep in mind that this was 2 years after 9/11. I read an article that said there was actually a stock sell off on Wall Street because people thought it was another terrorist attack. No it wasn’t. It was ANOTHER bouchard barge that blew up that killed ANOTHER 2 guys. This shit is getting ridiculous and an example needs to be made of this company to show that this will not be tolerated.
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But their tugs say “SAFETY FIRST” on them!
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So I submitted an email to boucharduscg@gmail.com this morning and already got a response. I told them they should monitor this thread because it is coming from actual mariners. This was the response they sent back:
From: USCG Bouchard255 boucharduscg@gmail.com
Date: Thu, Jul 19, 2018 at 10:46 AM
Subject: Re: Bouchard B 255 explosion
Sir,
We have been following gCaptain’s forum. I have forwarded your comments to the team just now.
Thank you
I think he was referring to the one at Port Mobil explosion in Feb of 03 which was in the Kills on the Staten Island side. My cousin was aboard FDNY Marine 1 (John D. McKean) at the time and went out in the whaler with the thermal camera to discover there were still fires in the void spaces after an hour of surround and drown ops.
Port Mobile was the one I was referring to. I think Bouchard had another barge explosion too. I spent 5 years at Bouchard myself.
That was one of the old Cibro Barges that blew up Citgo Linden I believe.