Wayward tugboat missed turn before barge smashed bridge

The barge that hit the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge early Saturday was off course, and it wasn't supposed to be traveling under the bridge in the first place.

And when it struck the bridge's pillar, it was headed toward the lawn of a waterfront apartment complex less than a quarter of a mile from the scene of the accident.

How did the 237-foot barge end up in that predicament? The Coast Guard and the company that operates the barge said they still were investigating yesterday and couldn't say for sure.

Tests administered to the master and mate of the tug pushing the barge revealed no evidence of drugs or alcohol, the Coast Guard said yesterday. Mechanical troubles have been ruled out as a possible cause. And the barge and tug were traveling well under the posted speed limit for that part of Lake Washington.

What officials do know is that the empty barge, southbound from Kenmore, should have turned west at Point Webster, at the tip of Seattle's Laurelhurst neighborhood, toward the Montlake Cut, the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Puget Sound. That route would have taken it well north of the Evergreen Point Bridge.

Instead, the 60-foot-wide barge continued south, entered a 100-foot-wide opening between support pillars under the bridge's western high-rise, and slammed its starboard bow into a pillar on the bridge's south side.

Here's a chronology, compiled from information provided by the Coast Guard, the Seattle Police Department's Harbor Patrol, and Sea Coast Towing, operator of the barge and tug:

The barge, known as NWA 100, and the tug, the Chinook, had delivered a load of gravel to a site in the Kenmore area and left to return to Puget Sound at 1:50 a.m. Saturday, said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Scott Casad.

Mike Myers, Sea Coast operations manager, said the tug carried a crew of three - a master, mate and deckhand. No one was on board the barge.

At the time of the collision, Myers said, the master apparently was at the helm, the mate was off duty and asleep, and the deckhand was making rounds, checking the engine room and other parts of the tug.

Neither Myers nor the Coast Guard would release the names of the crew, but Myers said the master has been placed on leave while the investigation continues.

It's not unusual for tugs and barges to operate on Western Washington waters in the middle of the night, Myers said.

Myers said he got a call at home from the tug's master and mate about 2:50 a.m.

"They told me, `We've just had a collision with the 520 bridge,' " Myers said.

After determining by phone that the crew was not injured and the vessels were not seriously damaged, Myers said he called the state Department of Transportation and the Coast Guard's marine-safety office to report the accident. He said a Harbor Patrol vessel was on the scene, and he asked it to escort the Chinook and the barge through the Ship Canal to safe moorage.

Harbor Patrol Sgt. Duane Hoekstra said the accident was reported to his agency at 3:10 a.m., perhaps by someone on shore who had heard the collision. Police would not make public the report on the incident yesterday.

But Hoekstra said a Harbor Patrol boat happened to be in the area, and was beside the tug and barge within minutes.

Myers said the Harbor Patrol did not board the tug or barge.

Casad said the Coast Guard received word of the collision about 3:30 a.m. but sent no one to the scene. A Coast Guard investigator met the tug and barge when they docked at Sea Coast's facilities on the south shore of the Ship Canal near the Ballard Locks around 6:30 a.m., he said.

Such a delay isn't unusual or cause for concern, he said: "We're not going to rush right down there and get in their way."

Myers said he also was on hand when the tug and barge docked. The crew was interviewed by the Coast Guard, then taken by the company to a laboratory in downtown Seattle where Sea Coast contracts for drug and alcohol testing.

Those tests, which were completed around 8 a.m. Saturday, came back negative yesterday, said Casad. Coast Guard regulations require that samples for such tests be collected after serious incidents "as soon as practicable," but set no time limit.

Myers said both the barge and the tug were back in service on Puget Sound yesterday.

Casad said regulations require the master of the Chinook to submit a report on the accident to the Coast Guard within five days. He said he didn't know if that had been done yet.

Myers said Sea Coast has what he characterized as "abundant" insurance coverage for accidents such as the bridge collision. He also said the company has offered to provide the state Department of Transportation with any help it can, including use of its equipment, in making repairs to the damaged bridge.

Eric Pryne's phone message number is 206-464-2231. His e-mail address is epryne@seattletimes.com.