(continued from video description) On the morning of February 27, the Chad Pregracke, with 9 crewmembers (including a captain and pilot), was en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pushing 30 loaded grain barges, six across by five long. The tow measured 210 feet wide and 1,173 feet long. The pilot on board had joined the vessel only two days before the transit in Pemiscot Township, Missouri. The owner specifically assigned the pilot to the vessel because he had experience transiting through Vicksburg in high-water conditions. In preparation to pass underneath the Vicksburg bridges, the pilot and the VIC watchstander spoke at 0230 to confirm that the Chad Pregracke tow complied with the high-water measures adopted by the industry to mitigate the risk of southbound transits through the bridges. The pilot confirmed that he was comfortable with the tow configuration and that the tow averaged 333 horsepower per barge, which met the Coast Guard’s 280-horsepower-per-barge minimum guideline to transit. Later, at 0400, the pilot held up the tow on the left descending bank, waiting for daylight as called for by the voluntary guidelines, before passing through the Vicksburg bridges. Before getting under way at 0634, the Chad Pregracke pilot discussed the transit with the port captain from Marquette Transportation. The Vicksburg gage read just under 48 feet. The Chad Pregracke captain, who did not have high-water experience in Vicksburg, was also in the wheelhouse because his regular watch was from 0600-1200. The pilot stated that he would normally flank the bend above the Vicksburg bridges, but he decided to steer the bend based on experiencing little set from the current when he steered through the Brown’s Point bend at mile 444, just a few hours earlier, at 0320. As the tow moved through the bend, the pilot had about a mile to line up the tow with the bridge. The pilot, anticipating a set to port, steered for pier 4 on the right side of the span, in order to line up to transit the 800-foot width between piers 3 and 4. The pilot stated that as the tow moved downriver, the current set the tow to the left side of the river despite his efforts to head towards the right side of the span. The pilot told investigators that he experienced the set to the left earlier and harder than he anticipated. The tow, moving at 11.5 knots, was set down onto pier 3 at a 10° angle to the pier. The tow contacted the bridge between the third and fourth barges from the head of the tow on the port side, and the tow broke apart. Four barges were damaged. The CC 95507B sank immediately, and the LTD 405’s bow was submerged. Two other barges were damaged but remained afloat. The Coast Guard closed the river to traffic. By 1450, the crew of the Chad Pregracke, with the help of other towing vessels, had retrieved the remaining barges, and, on March 1 at 1300, the crew had rebuilt the tow with the undamaged barges and continued the southbound transit. A total of 26 towboats and 354 barges were delayed until the morning of March 1, when the Coast Guard re-opened the area for vessel traffic.
Hey great channel, I love your stuff I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report. The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up. The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current. The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage. He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage. Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way. Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit? I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were The schedule is more flexible than the bow
@@gusbailey68 I doubt it even has a fender system. The bridge was opened in 1930. You'd be surprised how much we didn't know only that recently (I mean, look how California still loses bridges in every big earthquake. You'd think they'd have it figured out by now). Plus, it would be the worst blunder a bridge engineer could commit to built the fender to an elevation that would allow it to be submerged. I've never designed a fender (there's no navigable waterways where I live), but if I were going to, I'd be sure to set its top to at least the "WSE200" - the water surface elevation you'd get from a storm so big you would expect to see it only once every 200 years. Finally, there's no mention of a fender system in any of the documents.
I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report. The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up. The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current. The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage. He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage. Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way. Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit? I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were The schedule is more flexible than the bow
"The schedule is more flexible than the bow." Ocean going warship sailor here, but 'Charlie Copy' on that message. Same applies to us, schedules can be flexible ... hulls aren't. Regards and respects.
Bottom line is he did not have enough boat I've been on the Savannah repeat experience Pilots had he pulled right the current would have took the back of that thing and flipped it to the left he would flank the bridge from looking at the GPS he didn't have enough room between the bend and the bridge for those current conditions
The Vicksburg bridge has eaten many barges over the years, I've had many close calls with it myself. I usually flank unless the water is low and the Yazoo isn't running, it's just safer. It'll definitely get your attention fast!!!
Interesting to learn Marquette has named one of their tows after Chad Pregracke. He’s from my area and I’ve met him a few times. Don’t think he’s even 40yrs old yet. Has done remarkable work in cleaning up rivers and waterways.
Once they hit the bridge and all those barges scattered.. the Benny Hill music (Yackity Sax) started playing in my head. I can see all these damn barges trying to make a run for it.
Pretty scary, especially since the bridges had a train crossing and plenty of road traffic. I'm not an expert, but one would think he would be set-up much farther to the right to compensate for the swift water. Yeah, I'm pretty happy the bridge "won" too.
I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report. The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up. The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current. The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage. He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage. Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way. Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit? I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were The schedule is more flexible than the bow
When conditions are that extreme, they should be required to have assist tugs, but I’m sure corporate greed and lobbying keeps that from happening. Notice that not transiting the bridge at night is VOLUNTARY! It should be mandatory! Knowing the river traffic. I’m surprised that the engineers didn’t configure a bridge with a much larger span - unless of course this is an older bridge that didn’t anticipate this type of river transport.
Didn't something similar happen some years ago? I remember seeing a documentary about a barge destroying a railroad bridge and a passenger train falling into the water.
@@driftlesstroutdude7100 If you're talking about the Sunset Limited you got it all right except it was in Alabama. Just up the Mobile River from Mobile in Big Bayou Canot as First Last said. 47 train passengers and crew died. I've been by the spot a few times on the river and it always creeped me out.
They should rewrite the title "crashes into rail-bridge" into "scrapes bridge piling". Regardless how good a tug captain is, river currents and winds can easily put you where you don't want to be. Over sensationalized!
It seems to be quite a tough task to maneuver these "ships" through river bends. I am from Europe and we dont have river transport ships this big. At least I never saw something like this one. I would have failed right after the first curve in New Orleans/ Bayou :D
Vicksburg , the town that’s in has been home for me for 25 years.. I’ve also worked on the towboats and gone under that bridge many times.. The current comes off of a point way above the bridges and pushes down and into that left descending bank… The captain fucked up by tryna drive through instead of flank . Look up “flanking Vicksburg bridges southbound explained” and there’s a video a captain made explaining what that means
@@MississippiKid96 капитан нормально зашёл в поворот на переднем ходу , течением состав снесло уже на прямом участке ! Если бы заходин на заднем ходу , всё равно навалило бы на мост !
Good thing that bridges have been designed to handle such impacts for a very very long time. If I had to make an uneducated and unfounded guess, I'd say that that lesson was learned and mastered back in Ancient Roman times, when they were building the viaducts.
No ma’am. We ride on the boat, eat sleep and live on the boat. Every person (except call watch) works 6 hours on and 6 hours off for this particular company. 28 days on 14 home. This is a common occurrence unfortunately.
Nobody: Will it fit in my Honda? Hold my beer Am I a joke to you? Asking for a friend Everybody gangsta End this man’s whole career He protecc, he attacc … Sexual/genitalia innuendo Scatological/potty joke Question of quantity answered yes Plot twist Left/entered the chat Gaming reference Dislikes are from I’m a simple man Last time I was this early Legend has it That’ll buff right out Punch line below read more
Absolutely not! I've been a pilot for 40 years and the Vicksburg bridge still gets my undivided attention every time. It'll make even the best pilot look bad on any given day.
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(continued from video description)
On the morning of February 27, the Chad Pregracke, with 9 crewmembers (including a captain and pilot), was en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pushing 30 loaded grain barges, six across by five long. The tow measured 210 feet wide and 1,173 feet long. The pilot on board had joined the vessel only two days before the transit in Pemiscot Township, Missouri. The owner specifically assigned the pilot to the vessel because he had experience transiting through Vicksburg in high-water conditions.
In preparation to pass underneath the Vicksburg bridges, the pilot and the VIC watchstander spoke at 0230 to confirm that the Chad Pregracke tow complied with the high-water measures adopted by the industry to mitigate the risk of southbound transits through the bridges. The pilot confirmed that he was comfortable with the tow configuration and that the tow averaged 333 horsepower per barge, which met the Coast Guard’s 280-horsepower-per-barge minimum guideline to transit. Later, at 0400, the pilot held up the tow on the left descending bank, waiting for daylight as called for by the voluntary guidelines, before passing through the Vicksburg bridges.
Before getting under way at 0634, the Chad Pregracke pilot discussed the transit with the port captain from Marquette Transportation. The Vicksburg gage read just under 48 feet. The Chad Pregracke captain, who did not have high-water experience in Vicksburg, was also in the wheelhouse because his regular watch was from 0600-1200. The pilot stated that he would normally flank the bend above the Vicksburg bridges, but he decided to steer the bend based on experiencing little set from the current when he steered through the Brown’s Point bend at mile 444, just a few hours earlier, at 0320.
As the tow moved through the bend, the pilot had about a mile to line up the tow with the bridge. The pilot, anticipating a set to port, steered for pier 4 on the right side of the span, in order to line up to transit the 800-foot width between piers 3 and 4. The pilot stated that as the tow moved downriver, the current set the tow to the left side of the river despite his efforts to head towards the right side of the span. The pilot told investigators that he experienced the set to the left earlier and harder than he anticipated. The tow, moving at 11.5 knots, was set down onto pier 3 at a 10° angle to the pier. The tow contacted the bridge between the third and fourth barges from the head of the tow on the port side, and the tow broke apart. Four barges were damaged. The CC 95507B sank immediately, and the LTD 405’s bow was submerged. Two other barges were damaged but remained afloat. The Coast Guard closed the river to traffic. By 1450, the crew of the Chad Pregracke, with the help of other towing vessels, had retrieved the remaining barges, and, on March 1 at 1300, the crew had rebuilt the tow with the undamaged barges and continued the southbound transit. A total of 26 towboats and 354 barges were delayed until the morning of March 1, when the Coast Guard re-opened the area for vessel traffic.
Hey great channel, I love your stuff
I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report.
The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up.
The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current.
The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage.
He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage.
Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way.
Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit?
I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were
The schedule is more flexible than the bow
I can’t imagine being in the wheelhouse at the time🤯😭🤬
As a bridge engineer, I'm gratified that the bridge won. They're supposed to be designed to.
If it didn’t, that train would’ve had a bad day
I'm guessing the high water submerged the fender system.
@@gusbailey68 I doubt it even has a fender system. The bridge was opened in 1930. You'd be surprised how much we didn't know only that recently (I mean, look how California still loses bridges in every big earthquake. You'd think they'd have it figured out by now). Plus, it would be the worst blunder a bridge engineer could commit to built the fender to an elevation that would allow it to be submerged. I've never designed a fender (there's no navigable waterways where I live), but if I were going to, I'd be sure to set its top to at least the "WSE200" - the water surface elevation you'd get from a storm so big you would expect to see it only once every 200 years. Finally, there's no mention of a fender system in any of the documents.
@@alexmartin0824 The tug would have had an even worse day 😂
Not only did it win, but it won $800k USD of fixups!
I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report.
The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up.
The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current.
The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage.
He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage.
Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way.
Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit?
I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were
The schedule is more flexible than the bow
"The schedule is more flexible than the bow." Ocean going warship sailor here, but 'Charlie Copy' on that message. Same applies to us, schedules can be flexible ... hulls aren't. Regards and respects.
Probably needed to do the first and lining up with pier four coming out of the bend.
Bottom line is he did not have enough boat I've been on the Savannah repeat experience Pilots had he pulled right the current would have took the back of that thing and flipped it to the left he would flank the bridge from looking at the GPS he didn't have enough room between the bend and the bridge for those current conditions
I'll bet the flathead catfish get pretty big in that area.
Plot Twist: it was carrying coal
@@TheWizardGamez barges with cover tops don’t carry coal. Mostly grain, so I’m willing to bet them cats got some good eating
I’ve heard stories of divers going down and seeing catfish as big as them. No natural predators when they get that big. Just humans I guess.
The Vicksburg bridge has eaten many barges over the years, I've had many close calls with it myself. I usually flank unless the water is low and the Yazoo isn't running, it's just safer. It'll definitely get your attention fast!!!
Interesting to learn Marquette has named one of their tows after Chad Pregracke. He’s from my area and I’ve met him a few times. Don’t think he’s even 40yrs old yet. Has done remarkable work in cleaning up rivers and waterways.
Once they hit the bridge and all those barges scattered.. the Benny Hill music (Yackity Sax) started playing in my head. I can see all these damn barges trying to make a run for it.
I've always thought that there are just too many barges for safe transit when rivers are in full flood, should be reduced to maintain good control.
I wonder if the engineers on that train felt anything from that impact. I doubt they felt much, but I wonder if it was perceptible at all.
Nuts! It's like driving on ice.
pilot conclusively silencing the "you couldnt hit the broadside of a barn!" naysayers.
Marquette Transportation. I use to work for them in 2010. They be getting high as shit out there 😂
Marquette is not the wave
at least we get to see a nice KCS Manifest passing as well as destruction..lol
It's apparent that the mighty Missippi river has a little more power than a boat.
Every day.
The Chad Pregracke, Vs the Virgin Bridge.
I came here specifically for this comment
"would you believe by THAT much!"
Damn he smoked it good. I am glad I was not on there for that
Currents are so unpredictable .
Wow $800,000 worth of damage
Actually not that bad, considering a single A-frame barge that lifts the sunk barges runs around 100k a day.
Pretty scary, especially since the bridges had a train crossing and plenty of road traffic. I'm not an expert, but one would think he would be set-up much farther to the right to compensate for the swift water. Yeah, I'm pretty happy the bridge "won" too.
I slowed down the playback speed and paused to read the report.
The pilot had 2 choices to make the bend - flanking, which means he puts the engines in reverse and point the stern to the right bank while the current pushes the left side of the bow to the right, kinda like pinning the end and swinging the front. Then repeats this maneuver in small bursts as he crabs the string around the bend and lining up.
The other is steering the bend, which is exactly as it sounds, right engine reverse, right rudder, but with the pivot point of the entire string being only 1/3 ahead of the stern, the remaing 2/3 of the string was too much for the tug to overcome the current.
The thing is the river was 5 feet above flood stage, but this is a very experienced pilot who was frequently hired by companies for high water passage.
He said he had steered this bridge the week before but the water wasn't yet above flood stage.
Whether or not he made the right choice, the conditions were in extremis and a safe transit was a risk either way.
Do the shippers hold up 2 or 3 days until the level drops a bit?
I don't know, but when I was a deckhand on tugs towing oil out of NYC the words often heard around the fleet when conditions were not conducive to safe passage were
The schedule is more flexible than the bow
The current looked a lot faster than 4 to 5 knots.
When conditions are that extreme, they should be required to have assist tugs, but I’m sure corporate greed and lobbying keeps that from happening. Notice that not transiting the bridge at night is VOLUNTARY! It should be mandatory! Knowing the river traffic. I’m surprised that the engineers didn’t configure a bridge with a much larger span - unless of course this is an older bridge that didn’t anticipate this type of river transport.
That bridge was built in the 30s and has ate many barges in its long life
Incredible what those tugs Captan’s have to navigate.
That was one bad day for that tow pilot.
so even river chads are chads.....
Looks like he was never lined up for the bridge at any time before. Thus wasn’t able to recover at any point.
Chad Pendraki (SP?) - isn't that the name of the Riverkeeper guy?
Everybody gets a drug test!
No big deal....so the current made the tow veer off course, it can happen. A miscalculation not recoverable at that stage.
You work on the river?
You're fired!
Didn't something similar happen some years ago? I remember seeing a documentary about a barge destroying a railroad bridge and a passenger train falling into the water.
That was in Louisiana IIRC. Barges hit a bridge and then an Amtrak train ended up going into the bayou at like 3AM with many casualties.
@@driftlesstroutdude7100 Many thanks for the info!
Big Bayou Canot
@@driftlesstroutdude7100 If you're talking about the Sunset Limited you got it all right except it was in Alabama. Just up the Mobile River from Mobile in Big Bayou Canot as First Last said. 47 train passengers and crew died. I've been by the spot a few times on the river and it always creeped me out.
Boat wasnt even in the river channel.
They should rewrite the title "crashes into rail-bridge" into "scrapes bridge piling". Regardless how good a tug captain is, river currents and winds can easily put you where you don't want to be. Over sensationalized!
So with the current, was it mandatory to have two bargers? Don't know just asking!
It seems to be quite a tough task to maneuver these "ships" through river bends. I am from Europe and we dont have river transport ships this big. At least I never saw something like this one. I would have failed right after the first curve in New Orleans/ Bayou :D
Vicksburg , the town that’s in has been home for me for 25 years..
I’ve also worked on the towboats and gone under that bridge many times..
The current comes off of a point way above the bridges and pushes down and into that left descending bank…
The captain fucked up by tryna drive through instead of flank . Look up “flanking Vicksburg bridges southbound explained” and there’s a video a captain made explaining what that means
Опасно первые 10 лет ! Потом привыкаешь !
@@MississippiKid96 капитан нормально зашёл в поворот на переднем ходу , течением состав снесло уже на прямом участке ! Если бы заходин на заднем ходу , всё равно навалило бы на мост !
Blame the idiots that put a bridge right below a bend.
There is more freight crossing the bridges than going down the river.
Эти идиоты похоже везде мосты строят в самых неудобных местах !
@@tomfuelery2905 Hell no it's not. You have this backwards by far.
of course it was Marquette lol
While I train was on the bridge too! Yikes.
Good thing that bridges have been designed to handle such impacts for a very very long time.
If I had to make an uneducated and unfounded guess, I'd say that that lesson was learned and mastered back in Ancient Roman times, when they were building the viaducts.
Impossible to read the small printing.
thats why they zoom in..
What’s the link to the PTZ camera?
Oh look a marquette transportation, boat hit a bridge...imagine that....
Of course it was a Marquette boat
Can happen to anybody. Don’t take a chance in them conditions
That was my first boat I road with
Where did those people come from?! Does someone ride on every barge??
No ma’am. We ride on the boat, eat sleep and live on the boat. Every person (except call watch) works 6 hours on and 6 hours off for this particular company. 28 days on 14 home. This is a common occurrence unfortunately.
That'll buff right out
Nobody:
Will it fit in my Honda?
Hold my beer
Am I a joke to you?
Asking for a friend
Everybody gangsta
End this man’s whole career
He protecc, he attacc …
Sexual/genitalia innuendo
Scatological/potty joke
Question of quantity answered yes
Plot twist
Left/entered the chat
Gaming reference
Dislikes are from
I’m a simple man
Last time I was this early
Legend has it
That’ll buff right out
Punch line below read more
All the parade of documentation ,etc. will make no difference, The pilot is screwed!!
Встань на место пилота ! А потом уже коментируй ! Диванный эксперт !
Curious - If you could read my English statement, then why did you not respond in English. I have no idea what you have posted. Sorry..
Someone having a bad day?
Marquette?
Anybody know the program used for the simulation?
That was rose point, isn’t a simulation but the navigation tool we use.
GREAT STORY FEATURING THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF SKILLED RIVER PILOTS. MAN CAN NEVER OUTWIT MOTHER NAURE
Was it the Chad ?!? .... it might be the Chad ?
Wow!
Thats not so chad... chad
rookie mistake!
Absolutely not! I've been a pilot for 40 years and the Vicksburg bridge still gets my undivided attention every time. It'll make even the best pilot look bad on any given day.
0:47
Haters
Trumps fault