JOE B WYATT

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Report: Pilot's improper compensation for a river cross-current resulted in allision

The improper compensation of the pilot of the 'Kpe B. Wyatt' for a river cross-current resulted in an allision with a bridge at Fort Madison, Iowa lon May 9, 2024, according to a report, released by the National Transport Safety Board on July 10, 2025. The tug was pushing 15 barges down the Mississippi near Fort Madison on that day. As the pilot rounded Dutchman Island and lined up on the main span of the Fort Madison Bridge, an old swing bridge with a 200-foot-wide main channel, he intentionally steered to starboard of the charted sailing line. Based on 24 years of experience and 15 transits of this particular route, he expected to encounter a cross-current from around the other side of the island, which he believed would set the tow to port. The effects of that cross-current did not materialize, leaving the tug off course and headed at eight knots for a bridge piling protection cell. The pilot had about 1,900 feet of forward travel distance remaining to react. He increased power and attempted to swing the head of the tow to port, back into the center of the channel. Though he avoided a head-on allision, which could have seriously affected the two deckhands up at the head of the tow, the maneuver was not quite successful, and the third barge on the starboard side hit the protection cell fendering system. The tow broke up and about a dozen barges drifted off downriver, with two deckhands aboard. One barge eventually sank and was later refloated. No injuries or pollution were reported. Damage to the bridge fenders, the barges and the 'Joe B. Wyatt' was estimated at about $3.3 million. The report stated that there was no evidence that the pilot was fatigued, impaired, or distracted before or during the casualty. Given the vessel’s speed at the time, the following current, and the number of barges, there was likely not time for the pilot to prevent the contact with the protection cell by backing the tow. The agency concluded that the pilot overcompensated for the expected crosscurrents. It advised that a charted sailing line is a safe route when used as a guide, "along with the mariner’s own experience and assessment of the existing circumstances. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/ntsb-experienced-towboat-pilot-hit-a-bridge-on-the-mississippi