NEW ORLEANS — A viral video captured by New Orleans native Earl Weber shows a dramatic close call as a towboat desperately pushes 24 barges out of harm's way on the Mississippi River near Woldenberg Park on Sunday morning.
The video, which was shot from atop the Jax Brewery at approximately 8:30 a.m., shows the barges come within feet of hitting the iconic Natchez Steamboat before strong currents continued to push the oncoming metal mass toward the river ferry and docks.
Weber can be heard on the video saying "that was a very close call" as the barges narrowly escaped hitting the Natchez before stating "he might take out the ferry dock now" just before the ferry motored to safety in the nick of time.
He later described the scene in further detail in a social media post the following day.
"Near crash on the river yesterday," Weber posted on Monday. "Tow boat pushing 24 barges comes within inches of hitting the Natchez riverboat, and the ferry boat has to leave the dock in a panic to avoid being crushed. The captain of the tow boat, Roger L Knight did an amazing job avoiding a disaster."
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On Friday, WWL Louisiana's Paul Murphy reported that a combination of high winds and strong currents led to the barges carving a wide path on the river.
"When he came around Algiers Point, he may have gotten the wrong angle because he wound up a little too far over to the east bank of the river," Weber told Murphy. "I guess the wind caught him and just dragged him right in."
Weber feared the barges would wipe out the iconic steamboat and endanger the crew in a potentially deadly collision.
"He looked like he was going to take the Natchez out and that would have been very sad because, first they had some folks on the boat, whether or not they would have been hurt, that would have been worse," Weber explained. "The big rig would have crushed the Natchez. We’re happy to have the Natchez around. It’s a great asset for the city."
The U.S. Coast Guard told WWL the "Roger L. Knight" had 24 empty barges attached, and that the head barge touched the Canal Street Ferry Landing at Mile Marker 95. However, no damage, injuries or pollution has been reported since the incident.
The Coast Guard issued the following statement:
"This incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard. At 9:06 a.m. local time, on April 28, the Coast Guard received a notification about the vessel, ROGER L KNIGHT, a U.S. flag tug boat, being pinned onto the bank piling at Algiers Point below Canal Street Ferry Landing at MM 95 due to strong winds. The vessel had 24 empty hopper barges attached, which reportedly the head barge, touched the Ferry Landing. No damage, injuries or pollution has been reported. There was also a small craft advisory out due to high winds."
In another statement sent to Murphy by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, an RTA spokesperson commended the effort of the towboat's captain and crew in avoiding certain disaster.
The statement said:
“There is always potential for a mishap navigating that section of the Mississippi River, but we do not believe this scenario raises any major red flags. There is an expectation that our contractor LabMar and its crew are always vigilant as we make safety our top priority for our riders.
"We would like to thank LabMar, their captain and crew, whose quick actions were the reason contact was not made by the barges; that would have crushed the aluminum hull of the RTA1."
Weber concurs with RTA's assessment of the captain and crew's evasive maneuvers.
"That rig was maybe 1200 feet long, so he’s got 1200 feet, plus the wind, plus three knot current pushing, so he made maybe an error in the angle when he came across from there, but he made a terrific save," said Weber. "I’d buy him a drink (laughs). I think he did a great job."
The near-miss comes a little more than a month since a Singapore-registered container ship lost control and slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, collapsing a massive section of the structure and presumably killing six people.
And a bit more than a quarter century ago, the 730-foot MV Bright Field cargo ship also lost engine power before crashing into a crowded Riverwalk Marketplace just yards away from the location of the close call over the weekend.
This is an ongoing investigation and this story will be updated once further information becomes available.
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