Staten Island Ferry Crash Caused by Maintenance Issues?
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This blog wrote about the most recent crash of the ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi. In that posting, I questioned whether the ferry boats were being properly maintained, especially in times of tightening budgets for all municipal agencies. After a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (pdf), the United States Coast Guard yesterday issued a Safety Alert regarding the proper maintenance of systems, equipment and components. Although silent as to the particular vessel the Coast Guard was directing the Safety Alert, the website Professional Mariner confirmed that it was indeed the Andrew J. Barberi.
In the Safety Alert, the Coast Guard called into question the maintenance being performed on the Staten Island Ferry by the New York City Department of Transportation. In particular, as the crash was attributable to a failure of the propulsion at the New York end of the Ferry, certain parts were identified as possibly defective and replaced. After their replacement, the engine worked properly throughout numerous sea trials. The NTSB took samples of the engine oil, as direction of the ferry is controlled by numerous valves through which flows engine oil. The NTSB took samples of the engine oil for testing as the valves were sluggish and did not open and close properly. Preliminary reports show that the oil was highly contaminated, possibly leading to the failure of the engine.
The Safety Alert recommends that two oil filters on the propulsion systems be changed periodically. The shocking assertion made by the Coast Guard is that the DOT engineers never knew to replace the oil filters, despite the equipment Owners Manual requiring regular replacement. According to the DOT website, the Barberi entered service in 1981. Despite that length of time, no regular maintenance was performed on these filters and, in fact, no spare filters were even available. This shocking report comes as no surprise to me as an attorney that has represented numerous Staten Island residents hurt on previous ferry crashes. All too often, negligent maintenance has lead to a high percentage of the crashes. The remainder are attributable to the failure of the DOT to follow their own rules. People's first reaction shouldn't be that the "frivilous" lawsuits are going to start after each crash but that the the DOT continues to put our lives in danger each time we ride the ferry. Prevent the accident from happening and you prevent the lawsuits from occurring.
