About 1005 local time on September 12, 2018, a fire broke out in the engine room of the towing vessel Jacob Kyle Rusthoven while it was pushing nine barges southbound on the Lower Mississippi River at mile 673.8, approximately 6 miles north ofWest Helena, Arkansas. As the fire spread, three of the barges broke away from the tow, and one rolled over and lost its cargo. All six crewmembers abandoned the vessel onto the barges, from where they were rescued by a Good Samaritan vessel. Due to smoke inhalation, the crew was later sent to the hospital and discharged the same day. No pollution was reported. The Jacob Kyle Rusthoven , valued at an estimated $1.5 million, burned completely.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the engine room fire on board the towing vessel Jacob Kyle Rusthoven was an engine lube oil leak that ignited off a hot surface near the starboard main engine turbocharger. Contributing to the severity of the fire was the lack of crew measures to activate the engine fuel supply shutoffs and secure open doors ventilating the engine room.
According to the pilot, the captain mostly operated the boat “hooked up,” that is, with the
engines running full ahead, and worked the rudders “hard over to hard over.” Whenever the pilot would relieve the captain while under way, the (revolutions per minute) rpm would be at 1,050, and the pilot would pull back the rpm by at least a hundred during his watch.
I found this part quite interesting. Multiple members of the crew either failed or refused the drug test including the Captain.
Toxicology testing. All crewmembers of the Jacob Kyle Rusthoven, except the captain,
were tested for alcohol and other drugs. The captain refused to be tested, defying the company’s drug and alcohol policy and a regulatory requirement for crewmembers involved in a maritime casualty.3 Due to the violation, Graestone dismissed the captain the day of the accident, after less than two months of employment. Because of the captain’s refusal to submit to a postaccident drug and alcohol test, it could not be determined if the captain was impaired at the time of the accident.
All alcohol samples taken from the remaining crewmembers were determined to be inconclusive, except the pilot’s, which tested negative. Results for other drug tests were negative, except the
mate’s, which reported codeine/morphine in his system.
Not sure. I’ve seen inland companies refer to the mate as the senior deckhand, sort of establishing a pecking order of seniority. With a smaller company where people are failing drug tests, I would imagine this is the case - not licensed. He could have been a licensed mate continuing his training for the wheelhouse, but I’d imagine you are correct - just a deckhand.
USCG actually calls it a Mate Pilot so I’ve seen companies call a guy a Mate that has his Mate Pilots but not cut loose as a wheelman. But yes, in this instance, the mate would most likely be a glorified or experienced deckhand.
More than 40 years ago I did a couple months on a towboat on the upper Mississippi and Ohio rivers. We had a crew of 13 comprised of Captain, Pilot, Engineer, Mate, Lead-Deck (Bosun), 6 - Deckhands, Striker (Oiler), and Cook.
When the Captain was in the wheelhouse, it was the Lead-Deck (Bosun) and 3 Deckhands. When the Pilot was in the wheelhouse, it was the Mate and 3 Deckhands.
Obviously being such a long time ago things may have changed since.
Only because the industry can’t agree on what name to use. From NVIC 3-16:
What is the difference between “Mate” and “Pilot” or “Apprentice Mate” and “Steersman” of towing vessels?
In practice, there is no difference. The terms are interchangeable but their use may vary
by regional practices. An endorsement under 46 CFR 11.465 will be issued as “Mate
(Pilot) of Towing Vessels” and an endorsement per 46 CFR 11.466 will be issued as
“Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels.”
There are no plans to start issuing endorsements as Mate (2nd Captain).
Yeah, but that was the pilot that made that observation. Here’s the full quote.
According to the pilot, the captain mostly operated the boat “hooked up,” that is, with the
engines running full ahead, and worked the rudders “hard over to hard over.” Whenever the pilot would relieve the captain while under way, the (revolutions per minute) rpm would be at 1,050, and the pilot would pull back the rpm by at least a hundred during his watch.
The captain had only worked there a month, was let go after this incidnet.
I would be surprised if the throttles would let the engines be operated higher than allowed. The predominate engine found on towboats operating on the Mississippi are EMD’s. The 645 and later 710 engines have a max rpm of 950. The Jacob Kyle Rusthoven had Cat D398 engines. Those engines are operated up to 1200 rpms. The point being 1050 rpms is well within the operating parameters of the engines on that boat and not quite fully “hooked up”.
Just a brief anecdote regarding engine throttle settings and operation. I was involved in a project doing emission testing for Shell. I observed many of the ships typically operated the throttles at 90%. The Captains did not want to “push” the engines. We found the automation was set up such that 100% throttle was actually 80% engine load. Running at 90% throttle meant they running at somewhere between 70 - 80% actual engine loading.
