WILLIAM B KLUNK

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Report: Another incident caused by distraction by cell phones and fatigue

A tow pilot distracted by personal cell phone use and suffering from fatigue caused the allision of the 'William B. Klunk'', which was pushing 22 loaded hopper barges, with moored barges at a fleeting area near Baton Rouge on the lower Mississippi River on April 17, 2024, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released on July 17, 2025. The impact caused 13 barges to break away from the' William B Klunk', and three additional barges to break free from the fleeting area, resulting in damages to multiple vessels and infrastructure with estimated costs reaching $810,000. The NTSB investigators found the pilot failed to make any rudder or throttle adjustments in the nearly six minutes leading up to the allision. Onboard image recorder footage revealed the pilot using his personal cell phone and not monitoring the tow’s position just 40 seconds before the impact. Fatigue also played a significant contributing factor, with the investigators determining the pilot had received only about four hours of continuous sleep in the 36 hours before the accident and had been awake for nearly 18 hours at the time of the allision. The incident added to a growing pattern of maritime accidents linked to electronic device distractions and crew fatigue. The NTSB has investigated several similar cases in recent years, including the 2023 allision where the tug 'John 3:16' struck a pier on the Lower Mississippi River and the 2022 collision between the bulk carrier 'Bunun Queen' and the offshore supply vessel 'Thunder' in the Gulf of Mexico. In the latter incident, the NTSB hadfound the officer on the 'Thunder 'was using his personal cell phone, while the 'Bunun Queen’s officer was distracted by other non-navigational tasks, preventing both men from maintaining a proper lookout.