Employees of the company involved in the oil spill on the Mississippi River testified that their employer often allowed low-level mariners to work for higher-ranking crew.
On July 23, a towboat piloted by an inexperienced mate turned the barge into the path of an oncoming ship, casuing 280,000 gallons of fuel to be dumped into the Mississippi river in New Orleans,LA.
The pilot assigned to the Mel Oliver towboat, left the vessel days before the accident, leaving an apprentice mate at the helm, but his license prohibited him from steering a towboat without the supervision of a licensed pilot. Officials at DRD Towing asked apprentice mates to substitute because the company was short-staffed. Daigle warned the owners of DRD Towing that allowing apprentice mates to work unsupervised could cause problems for the company. "If something happens, we're going to get in trouble," he recalled telling DRD Towing executives.
DRD Towing shut down its operations shortly after the oil spill.
The Coast Guard will incorporate their testimony into a report meant to determine the cause of the accident and recommend possible sanctions against any of the guilty parties.
When companies try to cut corners like this one,then something usually goes wrong. Luckily, no one was injured or killed in the accident.The company was putting the dollar over safety like many of them do.
