The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released the report on its investigation into the March 19, 2025, breakaway of a tank barge loaded with ethanol on the Ohio River near Evansville, Ind.
The barge, moored at an Evansville Marine Service fleet at Ohio River Mile 795.5, broke free around 7 p.m. and drifted downriver, contacting docks at a pair of marinas near Mile 797. Total damage at the docks was estimated at $900,000. No damage was reported to the barge.
Marathon Petroleum Company owned and operated the barge, MPC 1056, at the time of the event. The m/v Nashville delivered MPC 1056 and another tank barge, MPC 637, to the fleeting area around 2:15 p.m. that day, according to the NTSB report. The crew of the m/v Brantley B was assigned tasked with securing the two tank barges in the fleet. Crew members secured MPC 637 with wires to the shore, NTSB stated in its report, and they moored the MPC 1056 to the MPC 637 with two winch wires. The headline was a five-part breast wire, while the sternline was a four-part breast wire.
“The mooring wires were 1-inch Gorilla Super strand with a normal (tested) breaking strength of 93,651 pounds,” the NTSB report stated. “The wires were run from winches forward and aft on the MPC 1056 and secured to bitts on the MPC 637 and cleats on the MPC 1056.”
According to the NTSB, that mooring arrangement complied with Evansville Marine Service’s normal and high-water conditions.
By 3:25 p.m. on March 19, 2025, the National Weather Service issued a “hazardous weather outlook” for parts of western Kentucky and southwest Indiana, including Evansville. The forecast included damaging winds, a tornado watch, and a wind advisory. Between 3:20 p.m. and 4:40 p.m., the crew aboard the m/v Brantley B responded to another barge in the fleet which had its starboard face wire break due to wind and waves. A weather station at the Evansville Regional Airport, about 10 miles northeast of the fleeting area, measured winds in the 18-25 mph range, with gusts above 38 mph, at 4 p.m.
Around 6 p.m., winds shifted to the southwest and were accompanied by heavy precipitation.
“According to the Brantley B captain, the MPC 1056 and MPC 637 remained moored at the fleeting area at the end of his watch at [6 p.m.], when he turned over with the next crew (a captain and deckhand),” NTSB stated in its report.
About an hour later, though, the owner of Nu Plaza Yacht Club, located at Ohio River Mile 797.3, saw a barge contact the docks at his marina. Around 7:30 p.m., a private citizen radioed the Brantley B to report a breakaway barge near the yacht club. Once on scene, the crew of the Brantley B identified the barge as the MPC 1056 and found headline had parted at the sternline was hanging over the side of the barge.
Within about 40 minutes, the crew again secured the MPC 1056 to the MPC 637. By about 9:30 p.m., officials from Evansville Marine Service reported the event to the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley. While surveying damage at the Nu Plaza Yacht Club, the Coast Guard also identified damage to the gangway dock of the Evansville Boat and Ski Club.
According to the NTSB, the probable cause for the breakaway and subsequent damage at the two marinas was “severe weather and strong current acting on the moored barge, which exceeded the holding capacity of its mooring arrangement.”
The NTSB advised barge fleet operators to “identify failure modes of mooring arrangements and implement controls, such as more frequent inspections and additional lines.”
