The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has found that New York-based Bouchard Transportation and three of its officers violated whistleblower protection rules when it retaliated against a seaman who cooperated with a federal investigation into a deadly barge explosion off Port Aransas, Texas in 2017. OSHA’s Whistleblower … [Read more...]
NTSB Blames Ineffective Maintenance, Safety Management in Deadly Barge Explosion
The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the deadly explosion and fire aboard the B No. 255 barge off the coast of Port Aransas, Texas in 2017 was the result of a lack of effective maintenance and safety management of the barge by the Bouchard Transportation Company. In addition, ineffective inspections and surveys by both the Coast Guard and the American … [Read more...]
Bouchard Seeking $18 Million Insurance Payout on Exploded B255 Barge
(Clearview Post) - The owners of an oil barge that exploded off the coast of Texas in 2017 might make $12 million more on their insurance claim for the damaged vessel than they have to pay the families of two seamen killed in the disaster, according to court filings. It’s a common scenario under an archaic U.S. law that protects the shipping industry from full financial … [Read more...]
Bouchard Transportation Lawsuit: Safety Record Not Relevant in Deadly Barge Explosion Investigation
Bouchard Transportation of Melville, New York, wants the Coast Guard's investigation limited to the loaded oil barge which exploded in 2017 off the coast of Texas, killing two deckhands. But the Coast Guard took testimony about the recent history of maintenance and safety issues of the company's fleet, calling the evidence relevant to its analysis of the fatal explosion. … [Read more...]
Bouchard Barge No. 255 Hearing Part 1: ‘I Was Hearing Blasts Every Second’
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles covering the U.S. Coast Guard's public hearing on the explosion and fire aboard the Bouchard No. 255 tank barge that claimed the lives of two people off the coast of Port Aransas, Texas on October 20, 2017. By Barbara Liston (Clearview Post) - A former seaman for the Bouchard Transportation Co. … [Read more...]