Freighter crash attributed to engine failure

Local pilot credited with averting worse disaster

December 15, 1996
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST

NEW ORLEANS (CNN) -- Quick action by the vessel's pilot may have averted disaster when a disabled freighter rammed a crowded New Orleans riverfront mall, according to officials with the local pilots' group. (640K/15 sec. QuickTime movie)

The 763-foot Bright Field, a Liberian-registered grain carrier loaded with corn, lost engine power Saturday afternoon as it rounded a sharp bend in the Mississippi River. The ship slammed bow-first into the busy riverfront shopping complex, injuring dozens of people.

Shops, hotel rooms destroyed

New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial said 116 people were injured, but there were no fatalities.

Four floors of the complex collapsed along a 200-foot stretch of the waterfront walk. Several hotel rooms and 15 shops were destroyed.

Rescuers aided by dogs combed the site Sunday for possible survivors, although Chief Warren McDaniels of the New Orleans Police Department said he had "no reason to believe" anyone remains trapped inside the wrecked complex.

Tug boats kept the freighter in place to prevent the riverfront building from collapsing further. "The boat is being kept there to stabilize the pier and hold debris," said Gordon Marsh of the Coast Guard.

Shipping traffic along in the busy Port of New Orleans is still not back to normal.

Officials Sunday began interviewing the Chinese-speaking crew members with the aid of a translator. They also are looking for recordings of the event.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Ron Mench told CNN that a failure in the lube oil pump may have caused the freighter's engines to shut down, hindering its steering ability.

With the loss of power, the pilot had little recourse but to send off a last-second warning blast of the horn and try to redirect the ship by dropping an anchor.

Coast Guard spokesman Ken Parris said automatic safety features slowed the boat's engine down "when the lube oil pressure was reduced to the engine." When that happened, the ability to steer the ship was lost, he said.

Local pilot hailed

Ted Davisson, a local pilot at the helm at the time of the crash, is being hailed for his performance in steering the crippled vessel. He has more than 20 years experience guiding ships through New Orleans and was assigned the task of navigating the port's waters.

As the ship barreled down on the crowded riverfront, Davisson dropped the freighter's portside anchor just seconds before impact, said Rob Barnett, a spokesman with the New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilot Commission.

When the anchor caught the river bottom it slowed the bow and caused the stern of the ship to swing around, "parallel parking" the vessel between a cruise ship loaded with 1,700 passengers and a casino boat with 600 gamblers on board.

"He was working the radio and giving commands to the bridge at the same time," said Joe Clayton, president of the local pilots' commission. "That's quite a balancing act for three or four minutes, while at the same time you realize that you're going to hit."

The crew of the Bright Field sounded a distress signal that sent many people on the docks scurrying, causing some injuries in the panic. Parris said the ship's crew reacted correctly.

The state pilots' commission interviewed Davisson for two hours Sunday morning as part of their investigation.

Drug and alcohol tests were done on the crew, as required by federal law, soon after the mishap but results weren't expected for two days.

The freighter, built in 1988, is operated by COSCO Shipping Co.

Studying river traffic

In the wake of Saturday's accident, officials began examining the likelihood of another incident occurring in the heavily trafficked waterways around New Orleans.

There are about 6,500 ships traveling through the port each year, and each week an average of one engine failure occurs of the sort that led to Saturday's accident.

A report on river traffic safety was completed several years ago in light of crowding from newly-licensed riverboat casinos, said Gordon Marsh of the Louisiana Maritime Safety Board. That question, he added, is likely to be reexamined after Saturday's collision.

Correspondent Charles Zewe and Reuters contributed to this report.

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