Union Faith
The Union Faith was a Taiwanese freighter, struck by a catastrophic fire, in New Orleans, on April 6, 1969.[1] Twenty-five men, almost half her complement, died during the fire. The ship grounded under the Greater New Orleans Bridge, which began to melt.
Chris Rieder and Douglas Grubbs, captains of two nearby tugboats, are credited with bravely leading the rescues of the 26 survivors.[1]
Kenny Scarborough, the pilot assigned to help the freighter navigate the river, is credited with helping prevent the disaster from being worse by making sure the freighter dropped her anchors.[1] He died in the fire.
The Union Faith collided with barges loaded with barrels of volatile petroleum products.[1] According to Nola.com a United States Coast Guard inquiry concluded Scarborough didn't see the barges, and didn't hear a whistle blast. Both the Union Faith, and the MV Warren Doucet, the tugbout pushing the barges, were equipped with radios, but they were not on the same frequency. Nola.com reported the disaster "spurred new regulations" which have helped keep the city safe. The river now has a maritime equivalent to an air-traffic control system.
Rather than try to raise the wreck the Coast Guard excavated a trench, in the river bottom, intended to safely hold the ship's hull.[1] Unfortunately, in 1999, oil that had been confined within the was detected seeping into the river.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Matt Sledge. 50 years ago, Union Faith freighter crash, explosion shocked New Orleans, but heroes saved dozens, Nola.com, 2019-04-20. Retrieved on 2022-06-29. “The crash happened at a time when deadly river accidents were still common. Eventually, the Union Faith disaster spurred new regulations for ship-to-ship radio, and a kind of air traffic control system for the Mississippi, that have prevented future tragedies.”