Tappan Zee Bridge Tugboat Crash: NTSB Issues Report, Citing Crew Fatigue As 1 Cause

TARRYTOWN, NY — Not enough personnel and crew fatigue were among the causes of the March 12, 2016, sinking in the Hudson River of the tugboat Specialist. The National Transportation Safety Board issued its report Tuesday more than a year after the crash and subsequent sinking in which three crew members lost their lives.

According to NTSB investigators, the crew on the Specialist and its sister ship, Realist, had not gotten more than four to five hours of uninterrupted sleep in at least three days prior to the accident.

They were also dealing with bad weather, strong currents and restricted visibility, which, according to the NTSB, increased their overall workload.

The NTSB said the restricted visibility was due to the size of the crane on the barge they were towing and the location of tugboats alongside the barge.

The Specialist was raised to the surface March 24, 2016, and was considered a total loss.

In its report, the NTSB said the Specialist was based in Staten Island and was assigned to pick up a tower crane barge in Jersey City, NJ and tow it to Albany via the Hudson River.

On the return trip from Albany on March 11, 2016, the captain of Realist was asked to meet up with the Specialist and relieve its captain, but the captain of the Realist convinced the company to take the Realist up the Hudson to assist the Specialist.

Around 8 p.m. March 11, 2016, a third tug — the Trevor — arrived to assist as well.

Sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. March 12, 2016, the captain of the Specialist left his vessel for unknown reasons, the NTSB said. He crossed the deck of the barge and assumed the helm of the Realist, leaving the Specialist mate to navigate the vessel.

As the barge and three tugs approached the new Tappan Zee Bridge construction area from the north, the crews were initially given a report that there was enough room to navigate. Sometime around 5 a.m., the Specialist mate radioed that there was not enough clearance and gave instructions of the others to change the course.

The NTSB said that, before the flotilla could maneuver away from a construction barge, the Specialist struck it, causing significant damage to the Specialist above the waterline.

The mate, who had been at the helm, jumped off the Specialist onto the construction barge after the collision.

The current pushed the Specialist into the bow of the construction barge, which began pushing the tug under water.

According to statements from workers on the bridge construction barge, the mate returned to the tug to attempt to help a deckhand who was trapped inside and calling for help.

The Specialist took on water through open doors and rapidly sank with the mate and two deckhands on board.

After the vessel sank, several workers from the construction barge saw the mate, Paul Amon, 63, of Bayville, Nassau County, in the water being swept away by the current.

They threw life rings toward him, but he was unresponsive, the NTSB report said.

A nearby rescue boat recovered him about 100 yards from the accident site moments later. He was rushed to shore, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

The body of Timothy Conklin, 29, of Westbury, NJ was recovered from the tug. The body of the final crew member — Harry Hernandez, 56, of Staten Island — was not recovered until the tugboat was brought to the surface March 24, 2016.

After the accident, no crew members from either the Specialist or the Realist answered investigators’ questions due to possible pending charges stemming from an ongoing criminal investigation. The owner of the vessels left the country after the accident and claimed to no longer be a U.S. resident.

The NTSB said there was no written tow plan submitted to the Coast Guard.

The most recent Coast Guard examination of the Specialist took place two years before the accident and found 18 deficiencies, including no towing license for appropriate tonnage, personal flotation devices not being available for each person, alcohol test kits were expired and safety orientations had not been conducted and recorded.

To read the complete NTSB report, go here.

Photo caption: Specialist, moments after colliding with a construction barge. Photo credit: From a witness, via the NTSB report.