The Gulf Queen Collision Oct 2021

Offshore Collison

On March 9, 1985, the U.S. charter fishing vessel GULF QUEEN was rammed by the U.S. crewboat MV ALAN MCCALL in the Gulf of Mexico, about 55 miles southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. The GULF QUEEN, with 20 persons aboard, was anchored in about 75 feet of water while members of the fishing party fished. The visibility was approximately 1/4 nautical mile in the fog.

The ALAN MCCALL, a 110-foot crewboat, while en route to an oil production platform, was traveling at a speed of about 18 knots, when it struck the port side of the wood hulled GULF QUEEN near its stern. Three persons from the GULF QUEEN were thrown into the water. Two persons were rescued; the third person is missing and presumed dead. The GULF QUEEN flooded and sank. The GULF QUEEN’s survivors were taken aboard the ALAN MCCALL and brought ashore.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the collision was the failure of the operator of the ALAN MCCALL to maintain a proper lookout, and to operate his vessel at a safe speed in fog. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the owners of the ALAN MCCALL to require that operators of their crewboats comply with the Inland and International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, particularly the rules for safe speed in periods of limited visibility and for maintaining a proper lookout.

https://trid.trb.org/view/387857

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/683/577/2268177/