The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the failure of Morgan City, LA-based Athena Construction to require its crews to secure mooring spuds in place on its barges led to an unintentional release of one of the spuds, which resulted in a natural gas pipeline rupture offshore Louisiana that killed six people in October 2006.

The fatal accident occurred when an aft spud (a vertical steel shaft extending through a well in the bottom of a boat and used for mooring) dropped into the water from one of two Athena barges being towed and struck an underwater natural gas line belonging to Gulfport Energy Corp. in West Cote Blanche Bay, LA (see NGI, Oct. 16, 2006). The released gas ignited and created a fireball that engulfed the tugboat and the two barges — the Athena 106 barge and another Athena Construction barge, the Miss Megan.

The master of the towing vessel and four barge workers were killed. One barge worker is officially listed as missing. On the three vessels there was a tugboat driver, a crane operator and six crew hands. One barge was carrying chemically treated lumber; the other was hauling a mechanical crane and fuel.

The NTSB concluded that the accident could have been prevented if the Athena 106 barge crew had used steel pins to secure the retracted spuds during their transit. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the tugboat owner, Central Boat Rentals Inc. of Berwick, LA, to require, and the Miss Megan master to ensure, that the barge spuds were securely pinned before getting under way.

The NTSB recommended that both Athena Construction and Central Boat Rentals develop procedures and train workers on its barges to use securing pins to hold spuds safely in place before getting under way.

It also called on the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health to issue a guidance document regarding the need to secure gear on barges, and urged the U.S. Coast Guard to finalize and implement new towing vessel inspection regulations.

Following the accident, it took almost two months to restore the natural gas line serving Gulfport Energy’s West Cote Blanche Bay field to full operation (see NGI, Dec. 11, 2006). The entire field was shut in as a precautionary measure following the fracture of the underwater gas line.

Gulfport’s West Cote field lies about five miles off the coast of Louisiana, primarily in St. Mary Parish, in a shallow bay, with water depths averaging eight to 10 feet. The field lies over one of the largest salt dome structures on the Gulf Coast, according to Gulfport.

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