Navigating to ZERO - August 2026

In 2025, the Coast Guard recorded one operational towing vessel crewmember fatality, the lowest annual total in the 31-year history of the Quality Partnership. The projected industry fatality rate fell to 1.1 fatalities per 100,000 full-time employees, compared with 5.4 in 2024. AWO's Safety Statistics Reporting Program (SSRP) shows a similar trend, with participating members reporting zero fatalities in 2025, compared with two in 2024 and seven in 2020.

Falls overboard remain a significant concern. They have accounted for approximately 42% of operational crewmember fatalities since 2000, and the sole operational fatality in 2025 involved a deckhand who fell from a barge and drowned.

Coast Guard falls overboard reports are generally tied to reportable casualty or fatality, which results in a much lower count as compared to AWO's SSRP, which captures all member-reported falls overboard, regardless of attachment to an incident. Even with this difference, the trends are consistent, with AWO recording 45 falls overboard in 2025, which is down from 63 in 2024 and 70 in 2023. The AWO SSRP falls overboard rate declined from 0.130 to 0.101.

The Coast Guard also recorded 88 injured crew members in 82 incidents during 2025, including 43 moderate, 9 serious and 4 severe injuries, with no critical injuries. Falls and line-handling events accounted for half of all serious and severe injuries. AWO's SSRP uses the same severity framework, which provides an interesting comparison with members reporting more events than recorded by the Coast Guard, including 233 moderate, 8 serious, 1 severe, and 2 critical incidents in 2025.

Environmental performance was strong in 2025. Tank barges spills were down to approximately 1,374 gallons spilled in 104 incidents, and a projected spill rate of just 0.02 gallons per million gallons transported. AWO members reported approximately 1,297 gallons spilled in the SSRP data for 2025, down sharply from approximately 27,502 gallons reported in 2024.

The Coast Guard investigated 1,323 towing vessel or barge incidents in 2025. Allisions and material failures or malfunctions remained the leading initiating events among high-severity incidents over the last five years. To compare, AWO has established a Navigation Safety Rate pilot in our 2026 SSRP. This rate reflects allision, collision, and grounding data submitted by members and allows AWO to provide another useful point of comparison as member data submitted to the SSRP continues to mature.

Both the Coast Guard and AWO data show encouraging progress for safety and environmental performance, while reinforcing the need for continued attention to falls overboard, line handling, allisions and equipment failures.

The Coast Guard-AWO Annual Safety Report is available on the AWO Resources page and up-to-the-minute SSRP data is available in the Member portal. For more information on either, please contact Michael Breslin.

AWO High-Value Near Misses for August

AWO's High-Value Near Miss Program seeks to prevent incidents by sharing lessons learned. In addition, AWO's Tankering and Barge Operations Subcommittee has established the Terminal Near Miss Program, which investigates near misses at terminals. Both are entered using the same form. Incidents involving bridges may be recorded using AWO's Bridge Event Reporting Form.

Member-Submitted Near Miss: Overhead Operations

Incident Summary

A recent incident at the SSA Tacoma Terminal highlighted the risks associated with conducting cargo operations directly above an active bunker operation. While an AWO member company was bunkering a ship, cargo hold plates were moved overhead despite repeated requests by the bunkering operator to stop the activity.

After attempts to resolve the issue with the crane operator, vessel agent, and vessel crew were unsuccessful, the bunker barge suspended the fuel transfer and kept personnel clear of the overhead work area. The crew documented the conditions and followed established communication and stop-work processes to manage the immediate risk.

Members have reported that similar situations have become more frequent in recent years at this terminal and other ports and facilities nationwide. In 2025, also at SSA Tacoma, a member's vessel was alongside conducting bunker operations when container lifting frames fell from the vessel it was fueling, causing significant damage to the barge. AWO also shared a member-submitted Near Miss where a lashing rod fell from a ship in our May Navigating to Zero newsletter; a presentation on several such incidents was discussed at the Summer Safety Meeting in July; the Coast Guard has issued Safety Alerts; and Harbor Safety Committees have raised the issue of overhead operation risks repeatedly.

Next Steps:

• AWO encourages members to communicate with ship owners before bunkering alongside to establish the operational plan and safety zone to prevent conflicts during simultaneous operations.
• Use established Standards of Care and Risk Assessments created with the Captain of the Port, shipping agents, and port operators to ensure shared understanding before operations begin.
• When a near miss or incident occurs, it is critical for mariners to stop work and report the event to their company, and when approved, AWO's Near Miss Program.

Additional Resources:

• USCG Safety Alert 0426 - Container Operations with Vessels Alongside
• SOCAL Marine Safety Exchange Harbor Safety Plan Appendix M1 Vessel Bunkering Heightened Awareness Program, Bunker Barge Best Practices, & Preventing Falling-Container Incidents During Barge Bunkering & Simultaneous Operations

Know a crew that stepped up when it mattered most? Submit your nomination using AWO's quick and easy form. https://www.americanwaterways.com/hero-award

HERO Award Honorees Receive:

• A Certificate of Recognition for the vessel
• A HERO Award Coin for each participating mariner
• A complimentary one-year marine license & liability insurance policy, generously provided by 360 Coverage Pros & Berkley Offshore.

Eligible Heroic Acts Include:

• Rescuing mariners in distress
• Responding to onboard or onshore medical emergencies
• Recovering overboard individuals
• Any act of courage that protects life and safety on the water

Explosion aboard Sludge Vessel Hunts Point - NTSB MIR-26-22

 On May 24, 2025, at about 1020 local time, the sludge vessel Hunts Point was moored at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Hudson River, in New York, New York, when an explosion occurred aboard the vessel. One crewmember was killed and three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. No pollution was reported. Vessel damage was estimated to exceed $10 million.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the explosion on board the sludge vessel Hunts Point was unapproved hot work being conducted above a tank that contained a cargo that produced flammable methane gas, resulting in the gas igniting and the subsequent over pressurization of the cargo tank.

Fire aboard Fishing Vessel Sub Zero - NTSB MIR-26-23

On August 8, 2024, at about 2130 local time, the commercial fishing vessel Sub Zero was transiting in Nushagak Bay, about 28 miles south of Dillingham, Alaska, when the crew discovered a fire in the engine compartment. The two crew members aboard attempted to fight the fire but were unsuccessful. They abandoned the vessel into a life raft and were rescued by a good Samaritan vessel. The Sub Zero burned to the waterline and sank. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported. The vessel was a total loss estimated at $650,000.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the fire aboard the fishing vessel Sub Zero was an unknown source within its engine compartment.

Collision Between Bulk Carrier Yangze 7 and Towing Vessel Miss Peggy - NTSB MIR-26-24

On July 19, 2024, at 1404 local time, the bulk carrier Yangze 7 and towing vessel Miss Peggy were inbound in the Houston Ship Channel, near Lynchburg, Texas, when they collided. The Miss Peggy capsized and sank with five crew members on board. Four were recovered by a good Samaritan vessel and the fifth crew member was later found deceased in the wreckage. One Miss Peggy crew member sustained serious injuries, and another sustained minor injury. An undetermined amount of oil was released into the Houston Ship Channel from the sunken vessel. Total damages, including salvage of the Miss Peggy and pollution mitigation, were estimated to be $3.7 million. The Yangze 7 sustained no damage.

The NTSB found that the Houston pilot who was directing the movement of the bulk carrier Yangze 7 during its inbound transit through the Houston Ship Channel failed to maintain a proper lookout because he was distracted by extended nonoperational cell phone use. This distraction resulted in him not detecting the presence of the Miss Peggy. The NTSB found that the captain of the inbound towing vessel Miss Peggy failed to maintain a proper lookout while navigating the Houston Ship Channel, resulting in him not detecting the Yangze 7 as it approached from astern. Similarly, the Yangze 7 bridge team failed to maintain a proper lookout, so they did not detect the Miss Peggy until the towboat was less than a ship's length ahead.

The Yangze 7 bridge team could hear the pilot on his cell phone, and at least one bridge team member was aware that the pilot's calls were nonoperational in nature. However, none of the crew members raised concerns about his cell phone use. The NTSB found that, had they done so, the pilot may have been prompted to end the phone call, allowing him to focus his attention on operational tasks. The Yangze 7 bridge team's failure to raise concerns about the pilot's cell phone use reflected ineffective bridge resource management.

At the time of the collision, the Houston Pilots did not have a policy prohibiting the use of personal electronic devices, like cell phones, for nonoperational purposes. The NTSB found that, because the Houston Pilots did not prohibit pilots from using personal electronic devices for nonoperational purposes while navigating, the use of personal electronic devices while actively directing the movement of a vessel likely became normalized over time, jeopardizing the safety of vessels and vessels' crews.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the collision between the bulk carrier Yangze 7 and towing vessel Miss Peggy was the loss of situational awareness by the Houston pilot, the Yangze 7 bridge team, and the captain of the Miss Peggy due to a failure to maintain a proper lookout.

Contributing to the pilot's inadequate lookout was distraction caused by extended nonoperational cell phone use. Contributing to the pilot's nonoperational cell phone use was the lack of prohibition by the Houston Pilots against the use of personal electronic devices by its pilots actively directing the movement of a vessel.

NTSB Recommendations:

1. To the U.S. Coast Guard: Prohibit the nonoperational use of personal electronic devices by persons directing the movement of a vessel through the waterways under your jurisdiction. (M-26-001)
2. To the American Pilots' Association: Develop and implement guidance prohibiting nonoperational use of personal electronic devices by pilots actively directing the movement of a vessel and encourage your member associations to adopt such guidance in their operational rules and policies. (M-26-002)

Fire aboard Fishing Vessel GITN'R DUN - NTSB MIR-26-25

On July 24, 2025, at about 0900 local time, a fire broke out in the engine compartment aboard the fishing vessel GITN'R DUN while the two crewmembers aboard were hauling lobster traps in the Gulf of Maine near Mount Desert Rock, Maine. The captain of the vessel attempted to put out the fire but was unsuccessful. Both crew members abandoned the vessel, which burned to the waterline and sank. There were no injuries, and no pollution was reported. The vessel was a total loss, with damages estimated at $717,500.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the fire aboard the fishing vessel GITN'R DUN was an undetermined engine compartment ignition source that resulted in a rapidly developing fire, which was too intense to be suppressed using the handheld fire extinguishers on board.

Coast Guard Reports of Investigation and Findings of Concern

The U.S. Coast Guard offers a monthly email to alert stakeholders about new Reports of Investigation and Findings of Concern, published on its Office of Investigations & Casualty Analysis website. To request alerts, email HQS-SMB-CG-INV.

U.S. Coast Guard Findings of Concern

POTENTIAL HAZARDS WHEN WORKING ALOFT

FoC - 004-26

8/11/2026

The U.S. Coast Guard Heartland District issued a Finding of Concern after a pneumatic work basket failed while a contractor was using it to paint an offshore production facility in the Gulf of America. The failure caused the basket to fall into the water with the worker still inside.

The Coast Guard found deficiencies with the wire rope, inadequate lubrication and rounded off gears on the hoist drum, and a broken overload switch and out of alignment bracket system.

The Coast Guard recommended that all work baskets in use within the maritime environment should be serviced according to manufacturer's instructions and any found with safety deficiencies should be removed from service until properly repaired.

CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF SAFE CARGO LOADING

FoC - 005-26

8/11/2026

The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Duluth issued a Finding of Concern after a Canadian-flagged self-discharging bulk carrier suffered a fracture in its bottom hull plating while underway on western Lake Superior, causing water ingress and requiring half of the crew to evacuate.

The Coast Guard found the vessel was overloaded, with bending moments exceeding allowable limits by as much as 13%, and had been overloaded on four previous voyages. Loading decisions relied on historical port data, preferred draft readings, experience and logbook entries, rather than precise calculations.

The Coast Guard recommended using classification society-approved cargo loading software, verifying calculations against the cargo loading manual, training crews in both software and manual calculations, reporting discrepancies, and regularly auditing loading operations and software systems.

U.S. Coast Guard Reports of Investigation

No New Reports of Investigation

Coast Guard and Marine Minerals Administration Safety Alerts

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Marine Minerals Administration* publish Safety Alerts on their websites on a regular basis. Alerts issued since last publication of the Navigating to Zero safety newsletter are listed below:

• MMA Safety Alert 523 - Improper Use of Hand Tools and Unplanned Deviations from Job Tasks Results in Injuries
• MMA Safety Alert 522 - Crane Failures Highlight Crane Inspection Gaps
• MMA Safety Alert 521 - Control Portable Electronic Device Use to Prevent Ignition Hazards Offshore

*As of July 10, 2026, the Department of Interior has reunified the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement into the Marine Minerals Administration, which will oversee the responsible development of the nation's offshore energy and marine mineral resources with an integrated focus on safety, environmental protection and efficient oversight. For more information, visit Transition to the Marine Minerals Administration | U.S. Department of the Interior.

Stakeholders are urged to review these alerts in detail to enhance safety measures and prevent incidents. Please contact Michael Breslin for more information.

NOAA Issues Mid-Season Update for Atlantic Hurricane Season

The mid-season update for the 2026 NOAA Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook was issued on August 6. The forecast was generally reduced by one storm from the original outlook, with 7-13 named storms now expected, including 2-6 hurricanes and 0-2 major hurricanes. These totals include the two tropical storms that have already occurred. The likelihood of a below-normal season also increased by 20%, with a 75% chance of below-normal activity, 20% chance of near-normal activity, and just a 5% chance of above-normal activity.

Safety Leader Focus - Trevor Creel

Trevor Creel joined Blessey Marine Services in 2022 as the Director of Health Safety and Environment (HSE), where he oversees his department's functions including the internal audit program, safety observations and near miss reporting, injury and illness prevention and response, safety meetings, training and all other safety programs. Mr. Creel currently serves on AWO's Safety Leadership Advisory Panel and the Tankering and Barge Operations Subcommittee.

Mr. Creel began his maritime safety career working as an HSE Supervisor in the oil and gas industry. He continued to grow as the HSE Manager of an offshore utility boat company and then as an HSE Advisor for an inland tugboat organization before finding his home at Blessey Marine.

Mr. Creel has a bachelor's degree in occupational health and safety from Columbia Southern University and plans to obtain Certified Safety Professional Certification in the near future.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, what is one safety priority or initiative Blessey is especially focused on, and what improvement do you hope it will produce?

With a younger generation entering our workforce, I believe one of the biggest challenges we face is messaging. We need to ensure we are using the right tools and strategies to effectively deliver training and safety information to new mariners. 

Everyone learns and absorbs information in a different manner. Some of us may be able to read a document and understand a concept, while for others, a video is best to help them visualize it. Understanding that this generation of workers has grown up with tablets and the internet, we believe video is best for engaging them in our training and safety programs.

We also know that younger generations have used social media to learn. This helps us further refine our training model. With assistance from our training department, HSE department and our external marketing group, we are creating short, targeted videos that mirror the social media experience. This keeps the younger mariners engaged and serves our ultimate goal of improving communication with our workforce.

Using better training techniques improves our service to employees and customers, which is a great example of how Blessey Marine operationalizes new ideas to ensure continuous improvement.

 Continuous improvement often depends on learning from both progress and setbacks. What has Blessey learned recently about strengthening safety performance, and how are those lessons shaping the way you engage employees, leaders, and operational partners?

We strive to be better on a daily basis by looking at ways to refine operations. An example of a recent refinement was the establishment of a safety observation program. Blessey already had a near miss program, but we were missing those daily observations that can prevent a near miss from even happening while also engaging the safety mindset of our vessel employees. We put our heads together and revamped our near miss program to include safety observations and rolled it out to the fleet. Now, we can use the safety observation data that comes in through our real-time online program and act on it immediately.

Another area where we have evolved is in our incident investigation process. Blessey has installed cameras on our boats, allowing us to pull videos from that system as needed for investigations. This provides information we need to conduct more comprehensive investigations, and we can also use the information for training purposes and lessons learned. The videos have proven extremely valuable when we are trying to get our mariners' feedback for planned improvements. It also makes for better training by showing mariners real examples from the field.

Blessey is not biased in our data collection, though, as we recognize good safety observations along with the bad. Incorporating both into our lesson plans lets us look at our achievements and our setbacks and gives us the ability to evaluate the full operational picture. It is these shared lessons that have shaped Blessey into the company I proudly represent today!

You have been highly successful in your career! What advice would you give someone who is considering a career in maritime? How can we all help people see the opportunity, purpose, and long-term career potential this industry offers?

My advice to a person considering joining the maritime industry is to be prepared for a great place to work that comes with some very demanding characteristics! The awesome part about our industry is that the rewards often outweigh the pressure of those demands.

It is also important to keep your mind fresh and open to new things and never become complacent. I believe the most successful mariners are the ones that keep pushing forward with new ideas and solutions. To accomplish life goals in any career, you must remain interested and focus on continuous improvement!

Another thing I stress is the many avenues for advancement in maritime. It is an industry where growth can be enormous, if you are open to trying new and different opportunities. I came from a small town in Louisiana and never imagined the career opportunities I have experienced in maritime. Growing up on "the bayou" as some would say, we were always surrounded by some type of maritime activity, but the potential for a career was not something I imagined when I was younger, which is why I think we need to do more outreach to our communities through maritime organization meetings or even by visiting local schools and universities. When younger individuals attend maritime industry days and they hear about the promising opportunities from experienced mariners, they can see the opportunity for a secure and interesting career that provides a good living and means to raise a family!

Repetitive Trauma: A Hidden Risk for Tugboat, Towboat and Barge Crews

A recent New York Times story highlights the extraordinary bravery of U.S. Coast Guard Surfmen, who operate rescue boats in some of the roughest conditions imaginable. These mariners knowingly accept significant risk, operating in heavy seas where repeated wave impacts can subject their bodies to thousands of powerful jolts over the course of a career. It is not uncommon for Coast Guard lifeboats to navigate in 25-foot swells, subjecting Surfmen to forces comparable to being tackled by an NFL linebacker, potentially leading to spine and brain injuries.

Their service deserves our respect. Their experience also offers an important lesson for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry: not every occupational hazard is the result of a single event.

Repetitive trauma can build slowly through vibration, vessel motion, repeated impact, lifting, awkward body positions, or other routine exposures. Because the effects may develop gradually, mariners and supervisors may not immediately recognize that something is wrong. The potential to sustain injuries over time without immediate pain is exactly what makes awareness, training and communication so important.

Tugboat, towboat and barge crews should pay attention to tasks or operating conditions that repeatedly place unusual strain on the body. If a mariner notices persistent pain, headaches, unusual fatigue or another concern associated with repeated exposure, speak up and report it to a supervisor. Supervisors should use those reports to assess the task and identify ways to reduce, control or eliminate exposure.

Coast Guard Surfmen go into dangerous conditions because lives depend on them. Our crews should not accept preventable, cumulative injury as simply part of the job. We honor the courage of those who answer the call by learning from their experience, speaking up when something does not feel right, and protecting the long-term health of every mariner who steps aboard.

Safety Statistics Reporting Program: Improving Performance and Participation Challenges

AWO's Safety Statistics Reporting Program (SSRP) shows encouraging safety trends across the tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

The new Navigation Safety Rate Pilot Program has collected more than 6 months of data, tracking allisions, collisions and groundings across Coastal/Harbor, Inland and Inland Fleeting operations, giving AWO members another useful tool for understanding risk and measuring progress. Early results are promising, and AWO will continue to monitor and refine the pilot program through early 2027.

Other trends are also positive. AWO members recorded zero mariner fatalities in 2025. Falls overboard rates and spill performance also improved in 2025 -- this tracks with the U.S. Coast Guard - AWO Annual Safety Report, which included just one (non-AWO member) work-related fatality in 2025. Recordable injury rates and lost time injuries have generally declined since 2020. To see live statistics, visit AWO's Safety Statistics Trend Report on the Member Portal: https://portal.americanwaterways.com/safety-statistics-trend-report.

The biggest opportunity now is participation. The more members who report, the stronger and more useful the SSRP becomes for everyone.

Thank you to our contributing members, and please keep your SSRP data current. Better participation means better insight, stronger safety programs and continued progress toward zero! Please contact Michael Breslin with any questions or concerns related to the SSRP.

Upcoming Events

AWO continues our Summer Roundtable series as we prepare for the Fall Convention. Come share and learn with your fellow members!

Visit AWO Events to learn more!

AWO partner and industry group events are a great chance to keep the conversation going between AWO meetings:

• National Safety Council Waterborne Transport Group (WTG) will hold its fall meeting October 6-7 in New Orleans.
• The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) 2026 Conference will be held September 30-October 1 in Seattle.
• We Work the Waterways will host several Maritime Interaction Days at locations in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and Gulf South from September 16-December 3.