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Accidents

Lauren Castle (1980)

At about 01:40 CST on 5 November 1980, Lauren Castle was towing the disabled tanker Amoco Wisconsin in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. The tug was tripped by its tow, flooded, and sank. The NTSB report record states that the engineer was lost and presumed dead. It also records minor hull damage to Amoco Wisconsin and that the assisting tug William C. Slevick was unaffected.

Classification

  • Incident Type: Sinking
  • Severity: High
  • Evidence status: Confirmed by the NTSB marine accident report record and abstract.

Vessel Details

FieldValue
Vessel NameLauren Castle
Vessel TypeTug
Official Number203337
Flag StateUnited States [US]
IMO Number
Gross Tonnage180
LOA (m)
Breadth (m)6.55
Bollard Pull (t)
Power (kW)
Owner/OperatorSelvick Marine Towing
TEU
Year Built1906
Crew Size

Incident Details

FieldValue
Date1980-11-05
TimeAbout 01:40 CST in the NTSB abstract; contemporary reporting gives a different time zone and approximate time
LocationGrand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, about seven miles north of Traverse City, Michigan
Coordinates47.1944, -88.2340
RegionUnited States
Fatalities1
Injuries
Missing
Cargo LossAbout 6,000 gallons of diesel reported spilled by contemporary news coverage
Direct DamageLauren Castle was a total loss; Amoco Wisconsin sustained minor hull damage.
Economic DamageUSD 303,000
Insured Loss
Salvage/Cleanup Cost

Key facts

  • At about 01:40 CST on 5 November 1980, Lauren Castle was towing the disabled tanker Amoco Wisconsin in Grand Traverse Bay when the tug was tripped by its tow, flooded, and sank.
  • The NTSB report record identifies one lost engineer, minor hull damage to Amoco Wisconsin, and an unaffected assisting tug, William C. Slevick.
  • The NTSB identified a short towline and the failure to release or sever it when Amoco Wisconsin began to override Lauren Castle as probable causes.
  • The NTSB also identified the use of a short towline in open water and a towing arrangement that prevented quick release by the towed vessel as contributing factors.
  • Contemporary reporting described the wreck in western Grand Traverse Bay, about seven miles north of Traverse City, and reported a diesel spill; the spill quantity is not stated in the NTSB abstract.

Narrative

At about 01:40 CST on 5 November 1980, Lauren Castle was towing the disabled tanker Amoco Wisconsin in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. The tug was tripped by its tow, flooded, and sank. The NTSB report record states that the engineer was lost and presumed dead. It also records minor hull damage to Amoco Wisconsin and that the assisting tug William C. Slevick was unaffected.

The NTSB determined that the probable causes were the use of a short towline and the master's failure to order release or severing of the towline when Amoco Wisconsin began to override Lauren Castle. It identified the use of a short towline in open water and a towing rig that prevented quick release by the towed vessel as contributing factors.

Public vessel-history reporting identifies Lauren Castle as a 1906-built tug with official number 203337, operated by Selvick Marine Towing. The vessel is reported to have been lost in western Grand Traverse Bay, about seven miles north of Traverse City. Contemporary news coverage also reported a diesel spill, but the NTSB abstract does not quantify it.

Sequence of events

Date/timeEvent
1980-11-05, about 01:40 CSTLauren Castle was tripped by the tow while assisting the disabled Amoco Wisconsin in Grand Traverse Bay, flooded, and sank.

Contributing factors

FactorEvidence statusDescription
Short towlineConfirmed findingThe NTSB identified the short towline as a probable cause of the tug being tripped by its tow.
Failure to release or sever the towlineConfirmed findingThe NTSB found that the master did not order release or severing when Amoco Wisconsin began to override the tug.
Towing arrangement prevented quick releaseConfirmed findingThe NTSB identified the towing rig's lack of a quick-release capability on the towed vessel as a contributing factor.

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board report, NTSB-MAR-81-09, identified the short towline and failure to release or sever it when Amoco Wisconsin overrode Lauren Castle as the probable causes. The report also identified the open-water towline practice and the towing rig's lack of quick release as contributing factors. The report record gives a publication date of 7 July 1981.

References

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