Philadelphia hires new tugboat operator, orders lookouts posted

The city has suspended its sludge-hauling contract with the tugboat operator involved in this month's fatal crash on the Delaware River and ordered its replacement to post lookouts on the barges.

On July 7, a 250-foot city barge crashed into a duck-tour vehicle that had stalled in the shipping channel, spilling two crew members and 35 passengers into the river; two passengers died. The barge was driven by a tug with no lookout operated by K-Sea Transportation of East Brunswick, N.J.

Tug operators say it is difficult to see around such barges when they are empty and riding high in the water, which was the case July 7. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether the absence of a lookout on the K-Sea tug Caribbean Sea played a role in the accident.

K-Sea agreed "voluntarily" to suspend its contract with the city "to ensure public safety and await NTSB findings," said Doug Oliver, spokesman for Mayor Nutter. "We feel it's the responsible thing to do."

A spokesman for K-Sea did not return calls Monday.

McAllister Towing & Transportation Co., based locally in Gloucester City, will provide tugboat service on a month-to-month basis, according to the city.

The first mate of the Caribbean Sea, who was steering the tug, has declined to discuss his possible role in the incident with the NTSB.

Frank DeSimone, the mate's attorney, last week told The Inquirer that he had advised the mate to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as a precaution, but said he might allow his client to talk to the NTSB in the future.

K-Sea's contract was due to expire in June 2011, according to Oliver. The city Water Department was paying K-Sea $112,600 a month to haul sewage sludge from Northeast Philadelphia to its treatment facility on the Schuylkill.

It will pay McAllister $137,958 per month, Oliver said, which is "consistent with their bid of a year ago" when the city let the contract. K-Sea was the low bidder.

Oliver said the city did not have to pay any fee to K-Sea for terminating the contract early.

No one at McAllister's New York headquarters or the Gloucester office was available to discuss the contract. One of the nation's largest tug companies, McAllister was founded in 1864 and has operated in the Port of Philadelphia since 1940, according to its website.

A spokeswoman for Coast Guard Capt. Todd Gatlin, acting captain of the Port of Philadelphia, said Monday that Gatlin had not yet scheduled any meetings with the city or Ride the Ducks Inc., operators of the duck, to decide whether to allow it to resume operations.

Ride the Ducks, which operated 15 ducks in the city, voluntarily suspended operations in all five cities where it operates after the July 7 accident. It has resumed operations elsewhere, but not here.

Bob Salmon, spokesman for the company, said Monday it had reviewed its safety practices and was "in the process of reinspecting our Philadelphia vehicles."

He said the company was "prepared to resume operations in Philadelphia when we have concluded our current discussions" with the Coast Guard.