Bow-Fortune

The National Transportation Safety Board has identified the decision of the master of the f/v 'Pappy's Pride' to navigate towards a Galveston entrance shipping channel on Jan 14, 2020, which created a close quarters situation in dense fog, as the probable cause of a fatal collision between the vessel and the 'Bow Fortune'. The NTSB issued Marine Accident Brief 21/21 on Nov 3, 2021, for its investigation of the collision near Galveston. The 'Bow Fortune' was transiting inbound in the Outer Bar Channel while the fishing vessel was transiting outbound. The two vessels collided in dense fog and the fishing vessel capsized and sank. Three of the four crew members aboard the fishing vessel died. One crew member sustained a serious injury. There were no injuries to the pilot or crew of 28 on board the 'Bow Fortune'. A surface sheen of diesel was reported. The fishing vessel was a total loss valued at $575,000. Prior to the collision, the pilot of the 'Bow Fortune' used VHF radio to hail the 'Pappy’s Pride' three times, and the tanker sounded two danger signals. The 'Pappy’s Pride’s captain had radar, automatic radar plotting aid and electronic charts onboard capable of showing the AIS information of nearby vessels. The 'Pappy’s Pride' AIS history showed that the captain made multiple course changes, indicating he was actively steering; however, the 'Pappy’s Pride' did not reply to any of the radio calls or danger signals. Investigators determined the probable cause of the collision was the captain of the 'Pappy’s Pride’s outbound course toward the ship channel, which created a close quarters situation in restricted visibility. Contributing to the collision was the lack of communication from the captain of the 'Pappy’s Pride'.

The owner of the 'Bow Fortune' on Jan 17 has denied any liability for the collision with the fishing vessel 'Pappy's Pride' off the coast of Texas that killed one crew member and left two more missing and presumed dead. The Norway-based Odfjell SE filed a motion in response to a federal lawsuit brought by relatives of one of the deceased fishermen. The family accused Odfjell SE of failing to safely operate its tanker which arrived in Freeport on Jan 24.

The unified command has suspended the search for two missing fishermen fromthe American f/v 'Pappy’s Pride' (MMSI:367092780 ) on Jan 16, three days after she capsized after a collision with the 'Bow Fortune' near the Galveston Jetties in Galveston, Texas. Responders searched more than 49 square miles over the past days. Responders from multiple federal, state and local agencies, as well as multiple good Samaritans conducted aerial flights, shore patrols and maritime searches. The cause of the incident was still under investigation by the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. The 'Bow Fortune' remained stationary at the Texas Interantional Terminal in Galveston as of Jan 17. Vessel Traffic Service Houston-Galveston has the following restrictions while transiting between the Galveston Bay entrance channel lighted buoys 7 and 8 and the Galveston Bay entrance channel lighted buoys 9 and 10 of no meeting or overtaking, with wake and surge considerations due to recovery operations in that area. Involved in the response were a 45 ft and a 29-ft--boat of the Coast Guard Station Galveston, an MH 65 Dolphin helicopter of the Coast Guard Air Station Houston, the Coast Guard Cutter 'Beluga', an unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) team of the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Texas City personnel, the Texas City Fire Department Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) team, multiple good Samaritan vessels, the Galveston Police Department, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol, the Texas General Land Office amd the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.