Captain of tug that hit Bligh Reef in 2009 was playing video games, U.S. Coast Guard report says

Tug Pathfinder, moored in Valdez after grounding. USCG photo

NOTE: This post has been revised to include a link to the Coast Guard investigative report, and to fix a headline error.

The captain of an oil industry tugboat that ran aground in December 2009 on Bligh Reef, spilling 6,410 gallons of diesel, was playing video games at the time of the mishap, a U.S. Coast Guard investigation has found.

The Coast Guard report says the crew of the tug Pathfinder, part of the Crowley Maritime oil tanker assist and escort fleet at Valdez, violated company policies, and the captain and second mate were unclear as to "who had the conn."

Bligh Reef is a charted navigational hazard that gained infamy when the Exxon Valdez hit it in 1989, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil.

The Coast Guard report says the captain of the Pathfinder, Ronald Eugene Monsen, had just changed course and sped up the tug, doing so without verifying the position of the vessel. He then turned to a computer to play video games, his back to the forward bridge window.

Monsen "deliberately violated company policy and used the vessel's computer to play hearts or other games, directly after changing course and speed. The Master's actions left the vessel's position unknown, other than an assumption made by the Master on the vessel's previous course," the report says.

Read the full report here.

Be advised that the document is very large and might take some time to load unless you have a blazing fast Internet connection.

Also, be aware that the document is really two reports in one. The top part looks at the role of the Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Center in the Pathfinder incident.

Fair warning: The report is quite cumbersome to read.

How big was that spill?

Crowley Maritime Corp. yesterday released a "worst case" estimate of diesel spilled from its Valdez-based tug Pathfinder: 6,410 gallons. The tug struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound on Dec. 23. The captain and second mate have been relieved of duty as an investigation continues. DEC photo

Pathfinder arrives safely home

The tug Pathfinder moored in Valdez at 12:56 a.m. after a 10-hour, 20-mile tow through Prince William Sound, the U.S. Coast Guard reports. An investigation continues into why the tug, used to help manage oil tankers, hit Bligh Reef on Wednesday. USCG photo

Pathfinder limping back to port, captain relieved

Here's a few more update items on the Pathfinder, the tug that sustained major damage Wednesday after hitting Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound:

• The Pathfinder is expected to arrive in Valdez around 10 p.m. tonight, having been taken under tow at 2 p.m. off Busby Island, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.

• About 36,000 gallons of mixed diesel and water were removed from the tug's damaged fuel tanks, the DEC said.

• At least six commercial fishing vessels helped with operations to skim what diesel managed to escape the tug, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

• Still no word from investigators or Crowley Maritime Corp., operator of the Pathfinder, on why the tug crew hit a navigational hazard as notorious as Bligh Reef.

• The tug's master and second mate have been relieved of duty pending further investigation, said Crowley, based in Jacksonville, Fla.

Update on the Pathfinder grounding

The tug Pathfinder with boom to corral spilled fuel. USCG photo

Here's some quick update items from the U.S. Coast Guard on the grounding of the tug Pathfinder on Blight Reef in Prince William Sound:

• A dive team found extensive hull damage, with a section of the keel missing.

• Alcohol testing of all six crewmembers was completed with negative results.

• The Pathfinder is still anchored and boomed south of Busby Island.

• The Valdez Star, an oil response vessel, is skimming the water in the vicinity of a light silver diesel sheen. The sheen is a mile or so east of Glacier Island and is three miles long and 30 yards wide.