
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released an investigation report on the towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis, which experienced an engine fire on November 9, 2021 caused by a fire-extinguishing system fail.
On November 4, 2021, at 0600, the Capt. Kirby Dupuis departed Paducah, Kentucky (near mile 950), bound upriver for Steubenville, Ohio (near mile 68), pushing thirteen dry cargo barges filled with sand, rock, and steel. The vessel had a crew of six: the captain, pilot, a “deckineer”, and three deckhands. The deckineer was completing a company training program to be qualified as an engineer.
On the morning of November 9, the towboat was transiting with both engines about 1,275-1,290 rpm Continue reading “Crew unfamiliarity with fixed fire-extinguishing system caused towboat fire”