*Correction: The 19 yr old Deckhand's last name was Jamison, not Johnson. BrickImmortar.com PATREON: www.patreon.com/BrickImmortar INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/brickimmortar Hope you're doing well! Your Safety Matters. -Sam
Would be cool to see NTSB: DCA16FM044 covered. It was a very unique tow boat. My understanding was it was originally some sort of war vessel cut in two and made into 2 tow boats. The engines where super far forward causing long shafts. Never saw it in person but heard lots of stories about all the various secret passage ways it would have inside.
This is my favorite channel hands down. My only complaint is that there isn’t more content because I have watched every single video multiple times. I know how much work goes into these videos so I’m just waiting over here patiently for the next one. 😂
If possible could you do a show about the sinking of the fishing vessel Taplow off of the Oregon/Washington area. I worked on that boat for years when I was younger and found out it ended up sinking.
I cannot tell you how much respect I have for a content creator who actively refuses to take sponsors. I haven't seen a single youtube sponsor yet that wasn't a massive scam.
I used to work on smaller towboats like this. The smaller towboats roll like crazy when turned hard without barges. You absolutely had to keep the main deck doors dogged for everybody’s safety. Water was always on deck, even caused by its own wake when at speed. If you were working upstream from a tow with the current pushing hard down at you, you really had to get about 1000ft above it before turning around, because if you got swept into anything solid while sideways in stiff current, she’s rolling. In fact, we had a brand new towboat, and if you turned hard enough, the thing would list so much that the main engine on the high side would think it was loosing oil pressure due to the slosh affect in the oil pan and send alarms sounding all around. Quite a bit of smaller towboats are like that, with their tall superstructure and relatively short length to be maneuverable but also see over a tow. Required some delicate handling. Good times sleeping on it.
Wow, this is so interesting, I had no idea they were all like that! Thanks for sharing. Incredible that that turning would even affect the oil pressure!
Super interesting stuff! Just a question because I really don't know anything: How can the ship's own wake cause water on deck? Is the ship listing so much that the side waves hit the deck? Thank you in advance :)
The engines on those boats are powerful, drawing enough water out from in front of them to create a small tide behind them. When we were stupid kids, the family had a camp on the intracoastal canal. We would run out onto the exposed mud when they passed, then race the waves back to land. I imagine the pilots did not appreciate this bit of fun, but they were too professional to yell at us.
@@janetsmiley6778 Heh, this is a crew that would have done well to remember the phrase "Baten down the hatches"... pity what happened to them, but.... ugh. ;-;'
as a towboater i encourage you to look into the sinking of the mv rc creppel. the mv rc creppel was run over by the mv cooperative spirt and sank taking 3 crewmembers down with it. attention needs to be brought to this situation and the familys needs answers. please look into this if you have time and thank you for all the informative videos.
Rc Creppel radio silence and the failure to update AIS tow information on both the Co-Op Enterprise and the RC Crepple only aided to the collision and loss of life. As in most cases human error was the cause.
Got a relative who used to work for the company in this video. He did not have many kind things to say. "Weed in the crew quarters, hands smoking grass in their bunks, loads of deferred or ignored maintenance, every possible corner and safety procedure cut".
The deferred maintenance is ironic given that Wepfer operates a fairly large shipyard/haul out in Memphis. They win, or used to win, nearly every government contract to haul out the Coast Guard river tenders.
10:00 Dispatch and management repeatedly state they were not aware of flooding issues. Considering how multiple different crew members all had the same policy of “just keep pumping the water and deal with it” i get the sense that this issue or similar have been reported in the past and never resolved, so everyone just figures it isn’t even worth complaining to higher. Just speculating, but happens nonstop in just about every industry
It's more likely they invented solutions to some very minor issues at first when repairs took longer than they'd like. For example, they're not going to take the boat out of service for a week until they can get an electrician in to repair a light switch for a storage closet. But the crews might feel their reports go unnoticed if the repairs are still not done 2 months later. Once you layer 4 or 5 of these non-serious, non-safety issues up that go unrepaired, crews would begin to invent workarounds, and think that's the only way they'll get stuff done. It's very unlikely the first issue that went unresolved was a serious safety issue.
My colleagues often ask me "why do you keep sending the same maintenance report every shift? they are clearly not doing it" - this is exactly why. None of my superiors will ever be able to say that they didn't know. (And yes, they have told me to stop doing that. I told them I would stop sending the report when they start fixing it. It's good to work in an industry where they desperately need people...)
As a professional mariner and master of ocean-going tugs, I am appalled by this crew's tradition of leaving the deck hatches open. Sui***e by complacency. Watertight integrity is a must.
I've never been on anything bigger than a lil 18' fishing boat, and hearing about open hatches on the main deck of a vessel with such little freeboard makes me anxious, I cannot imagine being so careless as to leave those paths for flooding open, slow leaks into the void spaces be damned
I sailed out of Oregon ( Home Port Coos Bay ) for 8 years. Sause Brothers Ocean Towing. Made 1st Mate in 6 yrs. Alaska , Hawaii and up and down the west coast. It's part of my life that gave me lots of respect for the Pacific Ocean.
@@DBS-Plus-Ultra my guess is even if the door is warped, it is better to have a door that is warped closing most of the hole, than to have a wide open hole.
I was talking to a cook who worked on the gulf sailing on liftboats and he recounted the story of a cook who died in the engine room when the boat capsized. He couldn't think of why the poor guy was down there in the first place. Then I got struck with a flashback, you're not supposed to, but I've seen used cooking oil being disposed of in the waste oil tanks down below. Point being, ashore or at sea, know your emergency escapes. They should be the first thing you look for when you go anywhere. That case might've just been wrong place wrong time, but as with the Ricky, in small spaces like galleys/kitchens, vehicles, etc, things happen in a hurry. Two trained and experienced men couldn't get out of a boat about the size of a single-wide trailer, then how many seconds would it take for you to escape your home or workplace? Again, outstanding work. Your professionalism and integrity is a beacon in a sea of disrespectful clickbait slop.
As an ex engineer I will tell you with absolute certainty that the cook was not supposed to be there. It's a machinery space, it's to be only manned by engine crew. The used cooking oil is to be dropped into the dirty oil tank, sure. By the motorman, oiler, wiper or cadet. The cook will usually be provided with a 20 liter canister and a funnel with a net filter to drain their oil, they will call the engine room when it's time to pick it up. Among all of the ships crew only the engine crew are actually expected to be anywhere on the ship, everyone else is to stay out of hazardous areas they aren't trained for
I know what I will say is tame but "just keep pumping it out" reminds me of when I had a job in tech support for a major cable company. And a customer said their internet and phone always went out when it rained. Well after going through steps related to troubleshooting they said they could not tell if the modem was on because that side of the house always tripped its breakers in a rain storm. The casual nature of these people just being told to pump out the hull, reminded me of this person casually ignoring that any major rain tripped half their circuit breakers was a bigger problem than their cable internet and phone going out.
Finally, a Towboat incident. I’m an inland/rivers towboat captain and it’s rare to see much about what we do or the risks we take. There are thousands of these types of vessels operating on americas rivers and inland waterways with hundreds of thousands of people employed in the industry. You should do the m/v Mauvilla / Sunset Limited disaster, worst in American history. I was actually the last Port Captain for Warrior & Gulf Navigation (owner-operator of the Mauvilla), before they packed it in….
As a Ohio river pilot, I highly approve of this excellent video.. you have done your research well. It can happen in a blink. Peace and comfort for the families 😢
Aviation safety professional here. It doesn't matter if you work on land, sea, or in the air - the lessons still apply. Understanding your equipment and procedures is vital. Having a robust reporting mechanism is essential. Having the courage to say "I'm not operating this piece of equipment until its fixed properly" is a must. When lives and multi-million dollar machines are at stake, capitalism must sometimes be placed on hold and safety upheld first. Your videos are absolutely amazing material and can be applied to a wide variety of professions and mindsets. Thank you so very much!
Considering the huge losses and lawsuits and such that accompany any significant accident you could even argue that good safety and maintenance actually saves money. It's just that the corporate suits are too short sighted to see that.
Like a lot of people I work on land, but I’m a aerospace machinist. Working with big lathes can be dangerous, but there is also an importance on making a good part. Especially knowing it’ll be in the air.
To keep a channel of this quality, that has the amount of work going into it that BrickImmortar does, sponsor free is beyond impressive. Were there ever a creator to support with an extra buck or two - this is definitely it!
Yes. This is what the internet was created to be. A source for information . NOT a source for someone to make a living creating videos with good or bad content.
Sam never fails. This is one human that when he speaks, I don’t question if he’s telling us facts or if he’s being dramatic just for views. He’s literally made his channel and following out of legit research and attention to detail. Not opinions and gossip. It calms my anxiety. Thank you, Sam.
I have to say, I am just floored every time you upload. I have no preexisting knowledge of anything related to seafaring, but I find myself enraptured with every detail you put in whether it's text, images, animation, music or voice over. Your videos are so information dense I end up pausing and rewinding frequently to look at diagrams and transmissions which lets me really sit with the content and think about it. I genuinely think the information density is a good thing. It feels like you have faith in the intelligence of your audience and, my god, that is a breath of fresh air (not to mention the lack of tacky sponsorships). Whatever your creative process is, it is working well.
Man.... Those little fleet boats are the most dangerous vessels to work on the inland waterways. Light boat the main deck is awash, and when low on fuel the ballast is screwy, which makes them prone to heavy lists in a turn.
I worked in the towboat industry, support personnel for Lower MS. Economy Boat Store lost a young hand awhile back. He was on the grocery boat, untied the wrong line, boat swung around and immediately got swamped. His body has never been found. Was only 23, had a wife and newborn baby. Extremely sad and a brutal lesson in the many hazards of river work. Even moving groceries.
Thats extraordinarily sad to hear. I was gratified that EBS was able to get a crew together and have a boat underway in one minute to help the Ricky Robinson. They obviously understood the gravity and urgency of the situation at hand.
@vulpeculagaming IMO they ran this boat on the brink of capsize for so long. By the time they recognized the danger. It was long passed time to have abandoned the boat. Most people wouldn't believe that a towboat wouldn't make it to either bank of the Mississippi before capsizing and sinking and that neither person would escape it.
Wow! As a tugboat guy on the westcoast of Canada. WTF? Who runs with a leaky lazaret? Thats just insane! Then to run with the laz hatches open and engine room doors tied open? Due to the loss of life I'll stop commenting.
I wonder what happend that they went down with the tug, from the comfort of my chair at home it would have seemed quit easy to jump the ship or swim out of the wheelhouse once capsized
@@Poging2 No life jackets, and strong (very strong) currents in that area of the Mississippi. The boat sunk in seconds. if the deckhand was under-deck, they wouldn't have had time. I've seen 8mph at times not too far from there, which doesnt seem like much, but you're powerless against that. Even a strong swimmer is going to be challenged, and have a hard time orienting and swimming towards shore. Most of these boat crews are not strong swimmers.
@@Poging2 In a rapidly sinking, capsized ship, in 4MPH current it's probably not so simple. If she really went down in 30 seconds, they were probably working hard to try to stop it from sinking and didn't realize it was inevitable until it was too late. With the boat listing already and pointed across current, once it got unstable it could have flipped real quick, and trapped them as well.
@@Poging2 It's _really_ hard to escape from a rapidly flooding, heeling structure, honestly. The structure changing orientation and filling with water is going to seriously disorient you, and any exits that you DID know the location and direction of might be on a different face of the room now, if they're visible at all. The post-salvage condition suggests the towboat sank mostly straight down, admittedly, so that might be less of a factor here, but it's still shocking how disorienting it is to get submerged in water. Additionally, you might be thinking of swimming in a pool or the ocean, but they call the Mississippi the "Big Muddy" for a reason. Especially that far down the course, the river is moving a TON of mud. Visibility in the water is atrocious and light is lost shockingly quick beneath the surface. So you have to do that in the dark, as well. But on top of all that, the SPEED of the sinking is key. Less than thirty seconds for effectively a two or three-story building to sink underwater is _terrifyingly_ quick. They barely may have had time to realize the ship was going down, not even enough time to take a breath. Worse, even if they DID realize that, people float and steel doesn't. If the towboat is sinking that fast and ESPECIALLY if the two crew had their lifevests on, the rapid ingress of water could have slammed them into the ceilings and either knocked them unconscious or simply stunned them, either of which is instant death in that situation. And if they did have their lifevests on, even if they avoided that, they'd be in the situation as the passengers on some of the Duck Tours boats Brick's covered in the past, where they're now pinned to the roof and have to forcibly swim DOWN to their possible escape routes first against their vest's flotation. In the dark. It's a horrifyingly difficult situation to be stuck in, basically. If either of them were out on deck then I'd agree, it'd be extremely easy to just swim off the open decks of the towboat, but since they were actively running for the shore, probably both crew were inside -- the pilot manning the helm in the wheelhouse, and the mate attempting to limit the flooding.
This has to be a company culture problem that starts at the top. No way are crews warning each other about problems but not reporting those problems to management without there be strong disincentives to do so. It may have been company policy to do these things on paper, but I'm pretty sure they were discouraged verbally.
Tennessee is a right to work state, paradoxically meaning management has the potential to fire just about anyone for any 'semi-justifiable' reason, breeding a certain culture in higher positions. I would not be surprised if reports were filed and 'misplaced' by management.
Saw this happen up-river on the Mississippi just south of Chester, Illinois about 10 years ago. Small tug used by a coal load out facility to arrange barges for bigger tugs got sideways in the water as he was trying to get back to shore during a freak storm. He couldn't straighten it out in time and a massive wave disabled her, then the next few waves took her down. No injuries or fatalities though. And they got her from the bottom of the river so she wouldn't pollute.
I'm a driver of a crew van that hauls towboat crew in Texas and Louisiana. This story hits close to home and is very stressful to hear about. The Mississippi is a fast and powerful river that can kill without mercy. I've heard stories over the years and this one really hurts? God bless all the families and friends that were affected!
Thank you for making these videos with an incredible level of thoughtfulness, research, professionalism and collaboration among those responsible for the various production roles. ❤
I hope the guy who looked down to check the deck at the worst moment is ok. Thats the kind of thing that can haunt you for a lifetime. Hope he was able to let it go.
When you mentioned the doors to the engine room being open, I immediately got flashbacks to the Flying Phantom. Had the Ricky Robinson's doors and hatches been closed, they probably could have made it to a safe grounding.
It’s sad that the crew didn’t make it out. I grew up around the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and most of my family has worked on the river. Both of my grandfathers, one of which theirs now a tugboat in operation with his name, the MV Gene Casper, worked on the river. Several of my uncles were captains of tow boats, and now some of my cousins still are. My brother was a deck hand for 15 years. I feel sad for the family of this crew who didn’t come home 😢
This channel is unbelievable entertaining and not taking money from sponsors is so commendable. Thank you to the creator, very important work being done and he deserves way more recognition and success than where he is at. Im happy to be a Patreon subscriber even if there isn't any benefits. Better than donating to a sketchy charity cause I know my money is going to a good place!
There’s one spot I know of near where I live that depth meters don’t register a bottom. My dad used to commercial fish and one of his friends took his boat over that hole when the river was super low and his depth meter registered 196 feet.
@@LuckyLucyHi This is an important observation. It goes fast at the END, sure, but it can take years for things to get bad enough to go wrong "quickly."
I work on an ATB going from the Mississippi River to the Texas coast. Most of these fleet boats keep their doors open while broadside to the current with marine traffic going by throwing big wakes. Its just a matter of time before another tragedy happens.
There are very high quality content creators on YT. They deserve a lot of praise for their consistency and workmanship. Then there is an upper echelon of researchers who take pride in what they do, the qualify of their work, and the impact they can have. Brick Immortar belongs to this category. And taking no sponsorship is a testament to that. Well done, Sam.
The saddest part about all of this is that the deckhand was only 19. He likely still didn't have enough experience to know what to do, and probably panicked and made things worse.
Management claiming no knowledge of the leak despite it being reported atleast 3 times... It sounds like the crew just gave up on reporting it to deaf ears
I'm not able to join the patreon (cries in poor college student) but I do want to say that I really appreciate that you're sponsor free. Sponsors just aren't appropriate for this subject mater. Thank you for the great content.
I’ve never really thought of marine or infrastructure incident videos. Not really a subject matter I’m close to but wow; your content, production, narration and staunch objection to outside sponsors are all top notch qualities. You have my subscription!
Appreciate your content. I was an open ocean sailor (engineering type). I have helped build Foss harbor tugs. I've been on ships that a wiper left his porthole partially open, that resulted in the whole O1 level being flooded! Oh well, he has to clean up the mess 😅! He was a good kid, He learned quick. He unfortunately died in a motorcycle accident a few weeks later.
@@zephyrast3036OH, I could go on about him! I got to know his family, his father was a Chief Engineer with APL. Stayed with them during the funeral and all. Wonderful people! 😢 Big Catholic service, with an over capacity outside. He was amazing!
Idk if your community comment about allisions is because u saw my comment asking about the word, but either way your channel is ultimately informative. Thanks!
Thank you!! I’m always waiting for another video from your channel, it’s always a fascinating deep-dive. Your content is so thorough and well delivered.
Towing vessels, and their management companies, are now subject to Subchapter M _(46 CFR, Chapter I)._ A notable requirement is they comply with a SMS, or Safety Management System. It’s a lot of paperwork, checklists, and ISO 9001 headaches to setup and maintain… but SOLAS has proven this to improve the blue water industry, and USCG is looking to improve the River industry.
Jig Strike just went down off Tanner Bank. Out of San Diego. No lives lost. Praise God. Captain Patrick D. Was last man off the boat. Great work Captain and Crew. I suspect they hit a submerged shipping container but who knows? Big piece of the bow ripped off. Happened at 10:30 am with sister boats close. Aloha and blessings. I’m a new subscriber.
My heart goes out to family. And thank you for shedding light on a much ignored part of maritime history...those who drive the towboats on our main rivers. Would love to have more river stories.
Recently found your channel, absolutely love your thoroughness and attention to for the peripheral details and info that might seem dry but actually add a lot to understanding these accidents. Can't wait for the next one!
As always great job. 😎👍🏻👍🏻 The MS river doesn’t look scary at all when you go to downtown Memphis - on Riverside drive or over to mud island. In fact it almost looks like the river is very shallow. Now I realize its strong current is insane & 65 ft deep isn’t shallow at all. 🤷🏻♀️😊Thanks for telling this story. I’m just not so sure I could ever drive or work on this boat after it sank so quick & took two lives with it. May they rip. 🕊️
I am not involved in the maritime world at all but creators with this much effort in their videos hook me. Well crafted, researched and narrated beautifully. A great listen every time.
Your videos make me want to work in the Sea industry. To know the forces over and in control actually investigate throughly is something to be proud of.
The idea of salvaging a boat that had sunk and killed its crew and then operating that boat to see what about it's operating characteristics may have led to the sinking seems incredibly sketchy and really gives me anxiety to think about it.
Well I understand your apprehension but they needed to figure out why it happened and that was all they had left. You can be sure after it had just sank it was checked before they sailed it for the test and they wouldn't have been alone this time. They would have had another boat traveling with them for the test and you can bet everyone was ready to abandon if necessary and unable to ground
I used to work on the river. Most times people doing a video like this misrepresent what a towboat is and how it works and all the different terms used vs regular ships but the way you did your extensive research making sure all the information was correct really made me enjoy this video that much more. I would enjoy if your did a video on the Grosse Tete Bridge in Plaquemine, Louisiana It keeps getting hit by barges but I have never seen any information or reports.
Ive been watching your videos for awhile, now, and ive always love how you cover it, the animation, and how obscure some of these are. Would do you consider doing a video on a real obscure one? The sinking of the the towboat Elizabeth M. It happened when I was a kid, I was 5 years old and remember seeing it sticking out of the river. It was a very negligent accident that could have been prevented and caused the deaths of four people.
This is amazingly informative. While it’s not the point of the video I would send this to someone interested in learning about these push boats that I work on. I feel this would explain everything so well. Great video !
Love your videos so much. Crazy how fast they sank! The Betsy Johnson was probably like "Where are they?" when they responded to that distress call. Keeping the hatches open is a recipe for disaster.
While the simple fact that this happened is lamentable, its really nice to see some coverage on towboaters. I worked on several iver the course of multiple years and its striking how little the crews/boats get talked about. Awesone video.
It's so refreshing to see a channel which is actually all about their content & not just pumping out videos which feature their "Shock Faces" & try & push unscrupulous sponsor's onto their audiences! Keep up the Excellent work mate! 👍🏴
As if sinking and drowning isn't already terrifying enough, at least you can imagine having time to react, to be able to DO anything to save your life. This was so fast the only thing they had to time for was realizing they were done for.
Is it complacency or engineering (or something else) that consistently gets people killed on the job? For instance; stern voids, lazarets and hatches that never seem to get closed cause more problems than they seem to be worth. If it’s a problem with the design why can’t it be eliminated? If it’s essential to the design why isn’t it monitored more intensively? Is it just that people get comfortable working negligently? You do something wrong, but nothing happens so you do it again and again and again until something does happen? I don’t really understand it
Very well said. I've always had these same thoughts. Especially since I started watching Bl's in depth documentaries a couple years ago. Seems very similar to a plane crash. Everything just seems to line up in an unfortunate series of events. Questionable design, external forces (weather and so on), short cuts or lack of maintenance, problems with hierarchy within the crew's, and just plain bad captaincy. In short, alot has to line up in just the right order. Mentor Pilot is a good channel for in depth looks at Airplane accidents and the NTSB reports that go along with them. Have a great day ✌️
My experience with company cars/vans/trucks etc is that people dont give a sh*t about company assets. Tyres worn to the steel, brakes steel on steel, driving with an oil pressure warning till the engine goes, broken windshields, ignoring maintance intervalls etc. Especially if your not every day on the same machine. I can imagine a crew being like "oh not this rustbucket again" getting their shift done and going home and just not care. I had machines that aparently for months leaked oil so bad they needed a top up every hour yet nobody bothered to inform anyone. And yeah you tend to do get comfortable "its been leaking for a month now so today will be fine as well" or "its getting bloody hot in the engine room and that open door never had been a problem before so its not gonna be one now" I dont remember his name, but a experienced scientist died because rather then the procedure he found it easier to use a screwdriver to experiment with a demon core of plutonium. Never went wrong so why should today be any different? Also I think you and me look more at the vessel and have a interest in the actual vessel like keeping her looking prestine, working as should and keep to the procedures (ignoring that procedures can be wrong but thats a whole other can of worms) while lots of people see it as nothing more then a tool for the job English isnt my native, hope my rambling makes any sense to the thought im trying to write down
Suppose you could equate it to the “frog in a pot of boiling water”. Either not being given the correct/adequate tools for the job, or not considering the potential side effect of certain actions. Doing the same sketchy operations day after day like you were saying, and eventually everything feels like just business as usual
Greed and apathy cause most accidents. These types of boats are finicky and need to be maintained and operated precisely or they won't be safe. Taking a risk and having work out okay for you doesn't mean it's not the same risk the next time, but that's a flaw of human psychology. Safety-conscious people are often derided in workplaces where safety is lax which further makes people stop speaking out about problems.
I work in the marine industry in this area of the river and likely looked at her before and after this happened. A lot of the boats running on the river are being held together with chicken wire and good intentions. Thankfully the new USCG inspection requirements are sending these ancient rust buckets to the scrappers.
*Correction: The 19 yr old Deckhand's last name was Jamison, not Johnson.
BrickImmortar.com
PATREON: www.patreon.com/BrickImmortar
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/brickimmortar
Hope you're doing well! Your Safety Matters. -Sam
He was a good kid. And his father was one of my closest friends.
In a similar vein of going down quickly, would you ever cover the Empress of Ireland? Or is there not enough to cover for that one?
Would be cool to see NTSB: DCA16FM044
covered.
It was a very unique tow boat. My understanding was it was originally some sort of war vessel cut in two and made into 2 tow boats. The engines where super far forward causing long shafts. Never saw it in person but heard lots of stories about all the various secret passage ways it would have inside.
This is my favorite channel hands down. My only complaint is that there isn’t more content because I have watched every single video multiple times. I know how much work goes into these videos so I’m just waiting over here patiently for the next one. 😂
If possible could you do a show about the sinking of the fishing vessel Taplow off of the Oregon/Washington area. I worked on that boat for years when I was younger and found out it ended up sinking.
I cannot tell you how much respect I have for a content creator who actively refuses to take sponsors. I haven't seen a single youtube sponsor yet that wasn't a massive scam.
Idk my Henson razor works pretty well...
@@abusfulloforphans Yea and I love my factor meals.
Respect to the community that supports the channel so they don’t need sponsors
Sam has taken sponsorships from ground news, but has stated he takes no sponsorships on videos that memorialize victims
Manscaped? I mean I know they're just regular hair clippers, but "scam"? Eh...
I used to work on smaller towboats like this. The smaller towboats roll like crazy when turned hard without barges. You absolutely had to keep the main deck doors dogged for everybody’s safety. Water was always on deck, even caused by its own wake when at speed.
If you were working upstream from a tow with the current pushing hard down at you, you really had to get about 1000ft above it before turning around, because if you got swept into anything solid while sideways in stiff current, she’s rolling.
In fact, we had a brand new towboat, and if you turned hard enough, the thing would list so much that the main engine on the high side would think it was loosing oil pressure due to the slosh affect in the oil pan and send alarms sounding all around. Quite a bit of smaller towboats are like that, with their tall superstructure and relatively short length to be maneuverable but also see over a tow. Required some delicate handling. Good times sleeping on it.
Wow, this is so interesting, I had no idea they were all like that! Thanks for sharing. Incredible that that turning would even affect the oil pressure!
Super interesting stuff! Just a question because I really don't know anything: How can the ship's own wake cause water on deck? Is the ship listing so much that the side waves hit the deck? Thank you in advance :)
Watching them from River Bend in New Orleans it looks so easy and peaceful but we knew how dangerous life on the river is. RIP
The engines on those boats are powerful, drawing enough water out from in front of them to create a small tide behind them. When we were stupid kids, the family had a camp on the intracoastal canal. We would run out onto the exposed mud when they passed, then race the waves back to land. I imagine the pilots did not appreciate this bit of fun, but they were too professional to yell at us.
@@janetsmiley6778 Heh, this is a crew that would have done well to remember the phrase "Baten down the hatches"... pity what happened to them, but.... ugh. ;-;'
as a towboater i encourage you to look into the sinking of the mv rc creppel. the mv rc creppel was run over by the mv cooperative spirt and sank taking 3 crewmembers down with it. attention needs to be brought to this situation and the familys needs answers. please look into this if you have time and thank you for all the informative videos.
Just looked into it any other recommendations?
Rc Creppel radio silence and the failure to update AIS tow information on both the Co-Op Enterprise and the RC Crepple only aided to the collision and loss of life. As in most cases human error was the cause.
The MV Cooperative Spirit, huh? There's an irony
The RC was where he was supposed to be,
The coop was not,,,,,
Got a relative who used to work for the company in this video.
He did not have many kind things to say. "Weed in the crew quarters, hands smoking grass in their bunks, loads of deferred or ignored maintenance, every possible corner and safety procedure cut".
The deferred maintenance is ironic given that Wepfer operates a fairly large shipyard/haul out in Memphis. They win, or used to win, nearly every government contract to haul out the Coast Guard river tenders.
Matches up with everything shown in the video, yikes..
@@John-tx1wk A mechanic's car is often in need of a lot of work, because the mechanic is too busy making money working on customers' cars.
@@jayschafer1760 as the saying goes "In the ironsmith's house, the spoon is made of wood"
@@jayschafer1760 the difference is thats a car. this is a commercial vessel with several lives on board at a given time during operation.
The response to their distress call was quick. Hats off to those guys
On the move in 1 minute is pretty fast
@@NaltddeshaAbsolutely. That's close to firefighter dispatch times. And these were civvies. Hats off indeed.
Why wasn’t a distress call made on ch 16?
Thats the Volunteer State for ya.
10:00
Dispatch and management repeatedly state they were not aware of flooding issues. Considering how multiple different crew members all had the same policy of “just keep pumping the water and deal with it” i get the sense that this issue or similar have been reported in the past and never resolved, so everyone just figures it isn’t even worth complaining to higher. Just speculating, but happens nonstop in just about every industry
It's more likely they invented solutions to some very minor issues at first when repairs took longer than they'd like. For example, they're not going to take the boat out of service for a week until they can get an electrician in to repair a light switch for a storage closet. But the crews might feel their reports go unnoticed if the repairs are still not done 2 months later.
Once you layer 4 or 5 of these non-serious, non-safety issues up that go unrepaired, crews would begin to invent workarounds, and think that's the only way they'll get stuff done.
It's very unlikely the first issue that went unresolved was a serious safety issue.
"I don't recall" "We were not aware" yeah, everyone knew, it was just cheaper to ignore
@@tin2001normalization of deviance. It's as insidious as it is deadly
Let's be honest boss probably shredded them
My colleagues often ask me "why do you keep sending the same maintenance report every shift? they are clearly not doing it" - this is exactly why. None of my superiors will ever be able to say that they didn't know. (And yes, they have told me to stop doing that. I told them I would stop sending the report when they start fixing it. It's good to work in an industry where they desperately need people...)
As a professional mariner and master of ocean-going tugs, I am appalled by this crew's tradition of leaving the deck hatches open. Sui***e by complacency. Watertight integrity is a must.
My thoughts as well. Losing watertight integrity as "normal' seems so stupid.
I've never been on anything bigger than a lil 18' fishing boat, and hearing about open hatches on the main deck of a vessel with such little freeboard makes me anxious, I cannot imagine being so careless as to leave those paths for flooding open, slow leaks into the void spaces be damned
I sailed out of Oregon ( Home Port Coos Bay ) for 8 years. Sause Brothers Ocean Towing. Made 1st Mate in 6 yrs. Alaska , Hawaii and up and down the west coast. It's part of my life that gave me lots of respect for the Pacific Ocean.
Nothing on that boat was truly water tight in the first place. Every door was warped. I’ve been on this boat.
@@DBS-Plus-Ultra my guess is even if the door is warped, it is better to have a door that is warped closing most of the hole, than to have a wide open hole.
I was talking to a cook who worked on the gulf sailing on liftboats and he recounted the story of a cook who died in the engine room when the boat capsized. He couldn't think of why the poor guy was down there in the first place. Then I got struck with a flashback, you're not supposed to, but I've seen used cooking oil being disposed of in the waste oil tanks down below.
Point being, ashore or at sea, know your emergency escapes. They should be the first thing you look for when you go anywhere. That case might've just been wrong place wrong time, but as with the Ricky, in small spaces like galleys/kitchens, vehicles, etc, things happen in a hurry. Two trained and experienced men couldn't get out of a boat about the size of a single-wide trailer, then how many seconds would it take for you to escape your home or workplace?
Again, outstanding work. Your professionalism and integrity is a beacon in a sea of disrespectful clickbait slop.
If my apartment ever sinks, I reckon I can escape from anywhere inside in about 5 seconds. I’ve been running drills.
Did that incident happen to be the Seacor Power by chance?
Excellent message. This helped clear up my confusion as to why they were unable to escape despite being on such a small boat. Thanks.
As an ex engineer I will tell you with absolute certainty that the cook was not supposed to be there. It's a machinery space, it's to be only manned by engine crew. The used cooking oil is to be dropped into the dirty oil tank, sure. By the motorman, oiler, wiper or cadet. The cook will usually be provided with a 20 liter canister and a funnel with a net filter to drain their oil, they will call the engine room when it's time to pick it up. Among all of the ships crew only the engine crew are actually expected to be anywhere on the ship, everyone else is to stay out of hazardous areas they aren't trained for
'tegridy
I know what I will say is tame but "just keep pumping it out" reminds me of when I had a job in tech support for a major cable company. And a customer said their internet and phone always went out when it rained. Well after going through steps related to troubleshooting they said they could not tell if the modem was on because that side of the house always tripped its breakers in a rain storm. The casual nature of these people just being told to pump out the hull, reminded me of this person casually ignoring that any major rain tripped half their circuit breakers was a bigger problem than their cable internet and phone going out.
Oh shit - yeah that's a big problem.
Finally, a Towboat incident. I’m an inland/rivers towboat captain and it’s rare to see much about what we do or the risks we take. There are thousands of these types of vessels operating on americas rivers and inland waterways with hundreds of thousands of people employed in the industry.
You should do the m/v Mauvilla / Sunset Limited disaster, worst in American history. I was actually the last Port Captain for Warrior & Gulf Navigation (owner-operator of the Mauvilla), before they packed it in….
As a Ohio river pilot, I highly approve of this excellent video.. you have done your research well. It can happen in a blink. Peace and comfort for the families 😢
It doesn't matter if it's the Pacific Ocean, the Mississippi River, a creek with no name or a swimming pool: complacency around water can kill you.
as well as in the air, on the road, in a factory ...
@@patanouketgersiflet9486 a well as in life in general!!!
True. Infact most people who drown do so in Thier own bath, or swimming pools
Aviation safety professional here. It doesn't matter if you work on land, sea, or in the air - the lessons still apply. Understanding your equipment and procedures is vital. Having a robust reporting mechanism is essential. Having the courage to say "I'm not operating this piece of equipment until its fixed properly" is a must. When lives and multi-million dollar machines are at stake, capitalism must sometimes be placed on hold and safety upheld first.
Your videos are absolutely amazing material and can be applied to a wide variety of professions and mindsets. Thank you so very much!
Considering the huge losses and lawsuits and such that accompany any significant accident you could even argue that good safety and maintenance actually saves money. It's just that the corporate suits are too short sighted to see that.
Like a lot of people I work on land, but I’m a aerospace machinist. Working with big lathes can be dangerous, but there is also an importance on making a good part. Especially knowing it’ll be in the air.
To keep a channel of this quality, that has the amount of work going into it that BrickImmortar does, sponsor free is beyond impressive. Were there ever a creator to support with an extra buck or two - this is definitely it!
Yes.
This is what the internet was created to be. A source for information .
NOT a source for someone to make a living creating videos with good or bad content.
TRUTH 🔥🔥🔥🔥💪
Yes, dude, you said it perfectly
Sam never fails. This is one human that when he speaks, I don’t question if he’s telling us facts or if he’s being dramatic just for views. He’s literally made his channel and following out of legit research and attention to detail. Not opinions and gossip. It calms my anxiety. Thank you, Sam.
I have to say, I am just floored every time you upload. I have no preexisting knowledge of anything related to seafaring, but I find myself enraptured with every detail you put in whether it's text, images, animation, music or voice over. Your videos are so information dense I end up pausing and rewinding frequently to look at diagrams and transmissions which lets me really sit with the content and think about it. I genuinely think the information density is a good thing. It feels like you have faith in the intelligence of your audience and, my god, that is a breath of fresh air (not to mention the lack of tacky sponsorships). Whatever your creative process is, it is working well.
Man.... Those little fleet boats are the most dangerous vessels to work on the inland waterways. Light boat the main deck is awash, and when low on fuel the ballast is screwy, which makes them prone to heavy lists in a turn.
I worked in the towboat industry, support personnel for Lower MS. Economy Boat Store lost a young hand awhile back. He was on the grocery boat, untied the wrong line, boat swung around and immediately got swamped. His body has never been found. Was only 23, had a wife and newborn baby. Extremely sad and a brutal lesson in the many hazards of river work. Even moving groceries.
Thats extraordinarily sad to hear. I was gratified that EBS was able to get a crew together and have a boat underway in one minute to help the Ricky Robinson. They obviously understood the gravity and urgency of the situation at hand.
@vulpeculagaming IMO they ran this boat on the brink of capsize for so long. By the time they recognized the danger. It was long passed time to have abandoned the boat. Most people wouldn't believe that a towboat wouldn't make it to either bank of the Mississippi before capsizing and sinking and that neither person would escape it.
Wow! As a tugboat guy on the westcoast of Canada. WTF? Who runs with a leaky lazaret? Thats just insane! Then to run with the laz hatches open and engine room doors tied open? Due to the loss of life I'll stop commenting.
I wonder what happend that they went down with the tug, from the comfort of my chair at home it would have seemed quit easy to jump the ship or swim out of the wheelhouse once capsized
@@Poging2 No life jackets, and strong (very strong) currents in that area of the Mississippi. The boat sunk in seconds. if the deckhand was under-deck, they wouldn't have had time. I've seen 8mph at times not too far from there, which doesnt seem like much, but you're powerless against that. Even a strong swimmer is going to be challenged, and have a hard time orienting and swimming towards shore. Most of these boat crews are not strong swimmers.
@@Poging2ship probably dragged them down with it
@@Poging2 In a rapidly sinking, capsized ship, in 4MPH current it's probably not so simple. If she really went down in 30 seconds, they were probably working hard to try to stop it from sinking and didn't realize it was inevitable until it was too late. With the boat listing already and pointed across current, once it got unstable it could have flipped real quick, and trapped them as well.
@@Poging2 It's _really_ hard to escape from a rapidly flooding, heeling structure, honestly. The structure changing orientation and filling with water is going to seriously disorient you, and any exits that you DID know the location and direction of might be on a different face of the room now, if they're visible at all. The post-salvage condition suggests the towboat sank mostly straight down, admittedly, so that might be less of a factor here, but it's still shocking how disorienting it is to get submerged in water.
Additionally, you might be thinking of swimming in a pool or the ocean, but they call the Mississippi the "Big Muddy" for a reason. Especially that far down the course, the river is moving a TON of mud. Visibility in the water is atrocious and light is lost shockingly quick beneath the surface. So you have to do that in the dark, as well.
But on top of all that, the SPEED of the sinking is key. Less than thirty seconds for effectively a two or three-story building to sink underwater is _terrifyingly_ quick. They barely may have had time to realize the ship was going down, not even enough time to take a breath. Worse, even if they DID realize that, people float and steel doesn't. If the towboat is sinking that fast and ESPECIALLY if the two crew had their lifevests on, the rapid ingress of water could have slammed them into the ceilings and either knocked them unconscious or simply stunned them, either of which is instant death in that situation. And if they did have their lifevests on, even if they avoided that, they'd be in the situation as the passengers on some of the Duck Tours boats Brick's covered in the past, where they're now pinned to the roof and have to forcibly swim DOWN to their possible escape routes first against their vest's flotation. In the dark.
It's a horrifyingly difficult situation to be stuck in, basically. If either of them were out on deck then I'd agree, it'd be extremely easy to just swim off the open decks of the towboat, but since they were actively running for the shore, probably both crew were inside -- the pilot manning the helm in the wheelhouse, and the mate attempting to limit the flooding.
New BI vids are an absolute highlight, I will be joining the Patreon eventually but wanted to say thanks for the work so far.
This has to be a company culture problem that starts at the top. No way are crews warning each other about problems but not reporting those problems to management without there be strong disincentives to do so. It may have been company policy to do these things on paper, but I'm pretty sure they were discouraged verbally.
Tennessee is a right to work state, paradoxically meaning management has the potential to fire just about anyone for any 'semi-justifiable' reason, breeding a certain culture in higher positions.
I would not be surprised if reports were filed and 'misplaced' by management.
Definitely
Saw this happen up-river on the Mississippi just south of Chester, Illinois about 10 years ago. Small tug used by a coal load out facility to arrange barges for bigger tugs got sideways in the water as he was trying to get back to shore during a freak storm. He couldn't straighten it out in time and a massive wave disabled her, then the next few waves took her down. No injuries or fatalities though. And they got her from the bottom of the river so she wouldn't pollute.
I'm a driver of a crew van that hauls towboat crew in Texas and Louisiana. This story hits close to home
and is very stressful to hear about. The Mississippi is a fast and powerful river that can kill without mercy.
I've heard stories over the years and this one really hurts? God bless all the families and friends that were affected!
Especially when the river is high and you have drift
Thank you for making these videos with an incredible level of thoughtfulness, research, professionalism and collaboration among those responsible for the various production roles. ❤
I hope the guy who looked down to check the deck at the worst moment is ok. Thats the kind of thing that can haunt you for a lifetime. Hope he was able to let it go.
Excellent point. Especially since he was rushing to their aid, driving the same kind of vessel.
It’s not like if he was watching on as it sank he could’ve done anything.
At least he has a Great story to tell at parties.
When you mentioned the doors to the engine room being open, I immediately got flashbacks to the Flying Phantom. Had the Ricky Robinson's doors and hatches been closed, they probably could have made it to a safe grounding.
It’s sad that the crew didn’t make it out. I grew up around the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and most of my family has worked on the river. Both of my grandfathers, one of which theirs now a tugboat in operation with his name, the MV Gene Casper, worked on the river. Several of my uncles were captains of tow boats, and now some of my cousins still are. My brother was a deck hand for 15 years. I feel sad for the family of this crew who didn’t come home 😢
This channel is unbelievable entertaining and not taking money from sponsors is so commendable. Thank you to the creator, very important work being done and he deserves way more recognition and success than where he is at. Im happy to be a Patreon subscriber even if there isn't any benefits. Better than donating to a sketchy charity cause I know my money is going to a good place!
Wow, 65 feet deep, i knew the mississippi was deep but thats some deep flowing water
and it can be up to 200ft deep.
There’s one spot I know of near where I live that depth meters don’t register a bottom. My dad used to commercial fish and one of his friends took his boat over that hole when the river was super low and his depth meter registered 196 feet.
In 30 seconds and everything is over, how quickly can things go wrong is insane..
Don't forget that it can take years of neglect and poor safety regulation/enforcement in order for things to go wrong that fast, though.
It takes way less time than that for a inflatable P. F. D. to save your life.
@@LuckyLucyHi This is an important observation. It goes fast at the END, sure, but it can take years for things to get bad enough to go wrong "quickly."
Things were going wrong on that boat for years. The last 30 seconds is just the conclusion to the buildup all of that negligence caused.
I work on an ATB going from the Mississippi River to the Texas coast. Most of these fleet boats keep their doors open while broadside to the current with marine traffic going by throwing big wakes. Its just a matter of time before another tragedy happens.
This video is about my father and older brother, thank you!
I remember when this happened. The ship sank about fifteen miles from my house. It was all over the news here.
Hell yeah, listening to this while i sleep tonight, something unusually soothing about the way BI tells these tragic stories
I would not want to captain a boat that already sank once and they never found the last captain's body.
I was thinking the same thing. Putting that boat back into service is pretty morbid.
Disgraceful iom@@zephyrast3036
THE BEST Maritime Accident Investigation Channel on youtube
This channel is a gold mine for civil and marine engineers, I wish there was the equivalent for electrical
There are very high quality content creators on YT. They deserve a lot of praise for their consistency and workmanship.
Then there is an upper echelon of researchers who take pride in what they do, the qualify of their work, and the impact they can have. Brick Immortar belongs to this category. And taking no sponsorship is a testament to that.
Well done, Sam.
I’m unreasonably upset about the idea that the “Towboat” pushes and doesn’t tow 😂
I had that same reaction
Agreed. It's an outrage.
They can tow as well , as long as they have a stern H bit.
NTSB Recommendation: "Follow the damn rules."
The saddest part about all of this is that the deckhand was only 19. He likely still didn't have enough experience to know what to do, and probably panicked and made things worse.
Management claiming no knowledge of the leak despite it being reported atleast 3 times... It sounds like the crew just gave up on reporting it to deaf ears
Something tells me that this video won’t conclude with the towboat safely tied up at the end of the day.
Spoiler alert! Boat sinks.
It kind of does since it ends up back in service.
If Brick Immortar makes a video about it you can expect a terrible fate to befall a vessel and its crew.
It actually does 😂
Ironic
2:43. “Flat-bottomed hull, you make the towin’ world go ‘round.”
-Captain Freddie Mercury
I'm not able to join the patreon (cries in poor college student) but I do want to say that I really appreciate that you're sponsor free. Sponsors just aren't appropriate for this subject mater. Thank you for the great content.
im excited for this one i wonder if the boat is gonna sink
It says it in the title
I wonder if any video made by this guy has boats sinking
@@Sebastian001I sure hope not
@@raksmeysamrith6625 your sarcasm detector is severely malfunctioning
They never do
I’ve never really thought of marine or infrastructure incident videos. Not really a subject matter I’m close to but wow; your content, production, narration and staunch objection to outside sponsors are all top notch qualities. You have my subscription!
Appreciate your content. I was an open ocean sailor (engineering type). I have helped build Foss harbor tugs. I've been on ships that a wiper left his porthole partially open, that resulted in the whole O1 level being flooded! Oh well, he has to clean up the mess 😅! He was a good kid, He learned quick. He unfortunately died in a motorcycle accident a few weeks later.
Darn, that's tragic. I'm sure he would have had a bright future.
@@zephyrast3036OH, I could go on about him! I got to know his family, his father was a Chief Engineer with APL. Stayed with them during the funeral and all. Wonderful people! 😢
Big Catholic service, with an over capacity outside.
He was amazing!
Idk if your community comment about allisions is because u saw my comment asking about the word, but either way your channel is ultimately informative. Thanks!
You and Mike Brady are killing it right now, keep up the good work👍
One of my other favourite channels.
He's our good friend Mike Brady.
Thank you!! I’m always waiting for another video from your channel, it’s always a fascinating deep-dive. Your content is so thorough and well delivered.
Thanks BI team. Great video once again. Also, love the 'your safety matters' drop at the end 😎.
Towing vessels, and their management companies, are now subject to Subchapter M _(46 CFR, Chapter I)._ A notable requirement is they comply with a SMS, or Safety Management System. It’s a lot of paperwork, checklists, and ISO 9001 headaches to setup and maintain… but SOLAS has proven this to improve the blue water industry, and USCG is looking to improve the River industry.
Jig Strike just went down off Tanner Bank. Out of San Diego. No lives lost. Praise God. Captain Patrick D. Was last man off the boat. Great work Captain and Crew. I suspect they hit a submerged shipping container but who knows? Big piece of the bow ripped off. Happened at 10:30 am with sister boats close. Aloha and blessings. I’m a new subscriber.
My heart goes out to family. And thank you for shedding light on a much ignored part of maritime history...those who drive the towboats on our main rivers. Would love to have more river stories.
It’s new Brick Immortar time!🎉 Patiently waiting! Thank you for continued, relevant and educational content! Keep up the great work!❤
Recently found your channel, absolutely love your thoroughness and attention to for the peripheral details and info that might seem dry but actually add a lot to understanding these accidents. Can't wait for the next one!
brick immortar has always been my favorite ship channel. this individual never ceases to surprise me with great and constantly jaw dropping videos
As always great job. 😎👍🏻👍🏻 The MS river doesn’t look scary at all when you go to downtown Memphis - on Riverside drive or over to mud island. In fact it almost looks like the river is very shallow. Now I realize its strong current is insane & 65 ft deep isn’t shallow at all. 🤷🏻♀️😊Thanks for telling this story. I’m just not so sure I could ever drive or work on this boat after it sank so quick & took two lives with it. May they rip. 🕊️
Your research and narration is outstanding. I really appreciate your work.
I know a lot more about tugboats than I did 28:21 ago. But here’s my before and after take: leaky boats are bad.
I’m already SO excited this is my favorite content on UA-cam! Just a few more hours!!!
I am not involved in the maritime world at all but creators with this much effort in their videos hook me. Well crafted, researched and narrated beautifully. A great listen every time.
I got my computer pad, love it.. Great episode as well, I like these additional short stories.
Your videos make me want to work in the Sea industry. To know the forces over and in control actually investigate throughly is something to be proud of.
The idea of salvaging a boat that had sunk and killed its crew and then operating that boat to see what about it's operating characteristics may have led to the sinking seems incredibly sketchy and really gives me anxiety to think about it.
Sketchy? It's called being a thorough investigator.
Well I understand your apprehension but they needed to figure out why it happened and that was all they had left. You can be sure after it had just sank it was checked before they sailed it for the test and they wouldn't have been alone this time. They would have had another boat traveling with them for the test and you can bet everyone was ready to abandon if necessary and unable to ground
it also had to be refloated and removed because it was directly in the channel and as such was a serious hazard to navigation.
I used to work on the river. Most times people doing a video like this misrepresent what a towboat is and how it works and all the different terms used vs regular ships but the way you did your extensive research making sure all the information was correct really made me enjoy this video that much more. I would enjoy if your did a video on the Grosse Tete Bridge in Plaquemine, Louisiana It keeps getting hit by barges but I have never seen any information or reports.
Ive been watching your videos for awhile, now, and ive always love how you cover it, the animation, and how obscure some of these are. Would do you consider doing a video on a real obscure one? The sinking of the the towboat Elizabeth M. It happened when I was a kid, I was 5 years old and remember seeing it sticking out of the river. It was a very negligent accident that could have been prevented and caused the deaths of four people.
Great work Brick Immortar. RIP to those two lost in the sinking, and condolences to the families.
LETS GOOOOO What a way to wind down the weekend!
One of, if not, my favorite channel. some of the best quality content on youtube
Another just outstanding production. You Sir have a talent for narration. Simply fantastic!
Literally blown away by the quality of your videos every time one comes out. So goodd.
Thank you for being thorough, thoughtful and professional with every product you produce. Amazing work as always 🎉
Thank you so much for all you're hard working to put these amazing videos together. Again thank you!
As a towboat captain, I would love to see you put out more videos of towboats and the incidents, casualties, etc associated with the industry.
Genuinely get so excited when i see a new BI video drop. Genuinely one of the most interesting and impartial content creators here.
It's always a lack of oversight. When will human lives become more valuable than the operating company chasing another dollar?
This is amazingly informative. While it’s not the point of the video I would send this to someone interested in learning about these push boats that I work on. I feel this would explain everything so well. Great video !
Happy Sunday to me! Keep em coming brother! Thanks
Love your videos so much. Crazy how fast they sank! The Betsy Johnson was probably like "Where are they?" when they responded to that distress call. Keeping the hatches open is a recipe for disaster.
I'm at work, listening to a new Brick Immortar video and it's beautiful outside, it's a good day.
While the simple fact that this happened is lamentable, its really nice to see some coverage on towboaters. I worked on several iver the course of multiple years and its striking how little the crews/boats get talked about. Awesone video.
Thank you! This was very interesting. You are a very good storyteller. RIP to the captain and deckhand.
It's so refreshing to see a channel which is actually all about their content & not just pumping out videos which feature their "Shock Faces" & try & push unscrupulous sponsor's onto their audiences! Keep up the Excellent work mate! 👍🏴
As if sinking and drowning isn't already terrifying enough, at least you can imagine having time to react, to be able to DO anything to save your life. This was so fast the only thing they had to time for was realizing they were done for.
Complacency, in any forum, kills.
Is it complacency or engineering (or something else) that consistently gets people killed on the job?
For instance; stern voids, lazarets and hatches that never seem to get closed cause more problems than they seem to be worth.
If it’s a problem with the design why can’t it be eliminated?
If it’s essential to the design why isn’t it monitored more intensively?
Is it just that people get comfortable working negligently? You do something wrong, but nothing happens so you do it again and again and again until something does happen? I don’t really understand it
Very well said. I've always had these same thoughts. Especially since I started watching Bl's in depth documentaries a couple years ago. Seems very similar to a plane crash. Everything just seems to line up in an unfortunate series of events. Questionable design, external forces (weather and so on), short cuts or lack of maintenance, problems with hierarchy within the crew's, and just plain bad captaincy. In short, alot has to line up in just the right order. Mentor Pilot is a good channel for in depth looks at Airplane accidents and the NTSB reports that go along with them. Have a great day ✌️
My experience with company cars/vans/trucks etc is that people dont give a sh*t about company assets. Tyres worn to the steel, brakes steel on steel, driving with an oil pressure warning till the engine goes, broken windshields, ignoring maintance intervalls etc.
Especially if your not every day on the same machine. I can imagine a crew being like "oh not this rustbucket again" getting their shift done and going home and just not care. I had machines that aparently for months leaked oil so bad they needed a top up every hour yet nobody bothered to inform anyone.
And yeah you tend to do get comfortable "its been leaking for a month now so today will be fine as well" or "its getting bloody hot in the engine room and that open door never had been a problem before so its not gonna be one now"
I dont remember his name, but a experienced scientist died because rather then the procedure he found it easier to use a screwdriver to experiment with a demon core of plutonium. Never went wrong so why should today be any different?
Also I think you and me look more at the vessel and have a interest in the actual vessel like keeping her looking prestine, working as should and keep to the procedures (ignoring that procedures can be wrong but thats a whole other can of worms) while lots of people see it as nothing more then a tool for the job
English isnt my native, hope my rambling makes any sense to the thought im trying to write down
Suppose you could equate it to the “frog in a pot of boiling water”. Either not being given the correct/adequate tools for the job, or not considering the potential side effect of certain actions. Doing the same sketchy operations day after day like you were saying, and eventually everything feels like just business as usual
Greed and apathy cause most accidents. These types of boats are finicky and need to be maintained and operated precisely or they won't be safe. Taking a risk and having work out okay for you doesn't mean it's not the same risk the next time, but that's a flaw of human psychology. Safety-conscious people are often derided in workplaces where safety is lax which further makes people stop speaking out about problems.
It’s complacently not understanding basic engineering or basic physics.
You have some of the best content on UA-cam. Another great video, friend!
The best youtube videos ever
Crazy to be the 185 like on this vid, cant wait to see how big it gets.and it will because this stuff is always top quality
Thank you, Brick Immortar. I wait patiently for your videos.
I don’t understand how a crew on a vessel who is aware that it is sinking does not survive
That fast it happens.
Quite honestly the only premiere I've been hyped about in years. Thank you for your stellar work. BI 👏
I just love this channel so much. Thank you for your tireless commitment to marine safety 🙏
You and drachinifel are both a delight to listen to.
A new series? In this economy? You madman!
I work in the marine industry in this area of the river and likely looked at her before and after this happened. A lot of the boats running on the river are being held together with chicken wire and good intentions. Thankfully the new USCG inspection requirements are sending these ancient rust buckets to the scrappers.
I have worked on many bow style tugboats with pushgear. The rubberized bow as you put it, is typically called the knee.