'Electronics malfunction' to blame for freighter mishap in Detroit River, Coast Guard says
A U.S. Coast Guard investigation points to an "electronics malfunction" for why a freighter only a few months old and longer than two football fields lost power, then maneuverability, on the Detroit River and ran aground, leaving it stranded for four hours.
The 639-foot merchant vessel — the Mark W. Barker — was freed by a commercial tug boat and moved, by its own power, to a Belle Isle anchorage.
But until repairs are made and the ship is cleared, it cannot continue on its voyage to Milwaukee, the Coast Guard said Thursday. To help officials added, Interlake Steamship Co., the ship's owner, flew a technician to Detroit to mend its damaged systems.
The Coast Guard also has begun interviewing the ship's crew of 21 to uncover more clues to the mishap. The maritime safety agency, however, said a fuller report of what happened on Wednesday is unlikely to be released for a week or more.
"Usually in groundings like this, the vessel can be there for a long time," Coast Guard Lt. junior grade Adeeb Ahmad said, adding he did know when the ship or the investigation report would be released. "This was unique in that within four hours, it was moving again."
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The National Transportation Safety Board, which also is responsible for civil transportation accident investigations, said Thursday it is not looking into the recent grounding. Generally, the NTSB only gets involved in shipping incidents when they involve casualties or are flagged by the Coast Guard.
Fortunately, the Coast Guard said, no one was injured, the ship was not damaged, and there were no leaks of the 20,000 tons of rock salt cargo or the 105,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
Still, the maritime officials added, such an incident potentially could have been calamitous. Two common accidents, collisions and groundings, pose various marine threats. And what adds to the investigation's significance — and company's public embarrassment ― is that the vessel, the Mark W. Barker, is new and the pride of the fleet.
Named after the Middleburg Heights, Ohio-based company's president, the ship was christened just last year. It is the first large bulk carrier built on the Great Lakes since 1981. Interlake also boasts the company is the "most efficient and environmentally responsible in the shipping industry" with of a fleet of 10 ships.
Interlake has described the Mark W. Barker as having a square-shaped, flat-bottomed cargo hold instead of a traditional V-shaped angled bottom and boasted the ship's "forward-looking design" offers "high-efficiency propulsion and maneuverability."
Interlake said it names all of its vessels after executives and their wives. Other ships include the James R. Barker, namesake of the company's chairman and Mark Barker's father, and the Kaye E. Barker, so dubbed after the president's mother.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Freighter grounding in Detroit River blamed on electronics malfunction
