Barge Breakaways During High Water

When a river rises fast, the calls start. Barges loose in the current. A string of them drifting toward a bridge, a dock, or a line of moored boats. Sometimes they are caught by a towboat in time. Sometimes they are not, and the damage runs into the millions.

Breakaways are rarely bad luck. Rivers rise on forecasts that are usually published days ahead. What matters is what the fleet operator and the vessels did with that warning.

Why barges break loose

• Current. Faster water puts more load on every line and wire.
• Debris. Drift piles against barges and adds force, sometimes enough to part rigging.
• Rising water. Lines and wires need adjusting as levels change. If nobody adjusts them, they go slack or come under strain.
• Weak moorings. Old wires, undersized lines, or mooring points not built for high-water loads.
• Fleet layout. Too many barges tied in a string, or tiers that extend into the current.
• Passing traffic. Wakes and suction from passing tows working against a stressed fleet.

The Louisiana Rule

A drifting vessel that strikes something is presumed to be at fault. The rule comes from a nineteenth-century Supreme Court case and still applies. The owner can rebut it by showing the mooring was adequate for conditions that could reasonably have been anticipated, or that the breakaway resulted from something no amount of reasonable care would have prevented.

That makes high-water preparation central. If the river was forecast to rise and nothing changed in the fleet, the presumption is hard to overcome.

What reasonable preparation looks like

There is no single checklist for every river, but prudent operators commonly:

• Watch river forecasts and gauge readings closely
• Have a written high-water plan with clear triggers
• Add or double up wires and lines before the rise
• Reduce tier sizes or move barges to more sheltered fleets
• Keep a towboat on standby to tend the fleet
• Inspect rigging more often as the water rises, and log it
• Comply with any Coast Guard high-water restrictions for the area

Records to request

• The fleet operator's high-water plan and fleeting procedures
• Fleet inspection and rigging logs for the days before the breakaway
• Records of wires, lines, and mooring points in use, and their condition
• Fleet boat logs and standby assignments
• River gauge readings and forecasts for the period
• Any Coast Guard high-water advisories or restrictions
• AIS data for vessels in the area, and the path of the drifting barges

Shared fault

Breakaway cases often involve more than one party: the fleet operator, the company that placed the barges, the towboat that passed too close, and sometimes the owner of the structure that was hit. Fault is divided by each party's share, so the analysis has to follow the whole chain, not just the last link.

About the author

Captain Mitchell S. Stoller is a Master Mariner Unlimited, former Exxon tanker master, and former Los Angeles Harbor pilot. About Captain Stoller