NTSB/MAB-18/21

National Transportation Safety Board

Marine Accident Brief

Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

At about 0035 local time on September 5, 2017, the crew of the towing vessel Savage 

Ingenuity was maneuvering two empty tank barges in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near mile 

marker (mm) 245 in Sulphur, Louisiana, with the assistance of another vessel.

1 While the tow’s

starboard side was almost perpendicular to the current, the vessel heeled to starboard and flooded 

through an open engine room door. The towboat sank partially, its bow being held above the water 

by the head line connected to the barges. All five crewmembers escaped to the barges without 

reported injury. Approximately 11,800 gallons of diesel oil were released into the waterway, most 

of which was not recovered. Damage to the Savage Ingenuity was estimated at $1,350,000.

Savage Ingenuity under way without barges. (Photo courtesy of Savage Inland Marine)

 

1 In this report, all miles are statute miles.

Accident no. DCA17FM026

Vessel name Savage Ingenuity

Accident type Flooding

Location Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near mile marker 245, Sulphur, Louisiana

30°3.56’ N, 093°22.43’ W

Date September 5, 2017

Time About 0035 central daylight time (coordinated universal time – 5 hours)

Injuries None

Property damage $1.35 million est.

Environmental

damage

Approximately 11,800 gallons of diesel oil released, about 200 gallons recovered

Weather Visibility 10 miles, winds calm, seas calm, air temperature 75°F

Waterway 

information

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is a toll-free canal that extends from Caloosahatchee, 

Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterway has a controlling depth of 12 feet and a 

width of approximately 610 feet at the site of the accident.
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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Location where Savage Ingenuity sank in Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near mm 245 while attempting 

to head eastbound to Calcasieu Refinery. (Base map and satellite image from NOAA ENC® Viewer)

Background

The Savage Ingenuity—a 68-foot-long, twin-propeller towboat with 1,880 horsepower—

was built in 2012 by Rodriguez Shipbuilding, Inc. in Colden, Alabama, as the Cheryl M. Settoon.

Five years later, the vessel was purchased by Savage Inland Marine and renamed the Savage 

Ingenuity. Five crewmembers manned the towboat: a captain, a relief captain, two tankermen

(since the vessel towed tank barges), and a deckhand. The captain and relief captain were tasked 

with navigating the vessel during a rotating 6-hour watch. The captain worked during the watches

of 0600 to 1200 and 1800 to 2400, and the relief captain from 0000 to 0600 and 1200 to 1800. A 

tankerman was assigned to each watch.

The weather conditions at the time of the accident were reported to be clear skies, with 

calm winds, and visibility greater than 10 miles. The current in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway 

near the accident location was flowing easterly at an estimated 4 to 6 knots, which was the result 

of a recent high-water event in the waterway due to Hurricane Harvey. The storm had ushered in

historic rainfall and a storm surge with catastrophic flooding.2

 

2 A storm surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA).
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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Accident Events

On September 4, the Savage Ingenuity was moored at the Black Lake Fleeting Services 

facility in Sulphur, Louisiana, on the south bank of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near mile 

marker 245. At about 2330, the vessel received orders to move two empty tank barges from the 

fleeting facility to the Calcasieu Refinery approximately 6 miles away. The tank barges were 

arranged two across (total beam of 108 feet) with the head of each barge facing west. The barges

SMS 30012 (port) and SMS 30010 (starboard), which were owned by Savage Inland Marine, each 

measured 297 feet in length, 54 feet in beam, and approximately 1 foot in draft. The total length 

of the tow was approximately 365 feet.

To reach the refinery, the tow had to be turned, or “topped around,” to head east in the 

waterway. Because of the strong current, the relief captain of the Savage Ingenuity requested 

assistance with the maneuver from the Alfred P Cenac III, a 64-foot-long, triple-propeller fleet

boat with 1,800 horsepower.

About midnight on September 5, the Savage Ingenuity was faced up (connected) to the 

barges in preparation for the maneuver. Once the Alfred P Cenac III arrived, the relief captain on 

the Savage Ingenuity requested that the pilot on the Alfred P Cenac III connect a head line on the 

stern of the Savage Ingenuity to pull the tow away from the south bank.

3 After the deckhand, who

was on the barge, finished releasing the lines from the bank, the tow began moving with the 

assistance of the fleet boat.

When the tow cleared the bank, both the relief captain and the pilot discussed their next 

action. They planned to have the Savage Ingenuity push the head of the tow into the south bank 

and then top it around so that they could transit eastbound to their destination. This maneuver

would use the bank to pivot the tow, temporarily placing the towboat and barges perpendicular to 

the bank with the strong current on the starboard side. The Alfred P Cenac III would push from the 

port quarter of the port barge.

The Alfred P Cenac III began pushing the port barge, while the Savage Ingenuity

maneuvered the head of the barges into the bank to begin the swing to port. According to the pilot

on the Alfred P Cenac III, about halfway through the maneuver he noticed that the Savage 

Ingenuity started to list to starboard. He then “backed off” from pushing the port barge and began 

moving to the opposite side of the barges with the intent of pushing the tow toward the safety of 

the south bank, back to their original position before the maneuver began.

When the Savage Ingenuity began listing to starboard, the relief captain also stopped 

pushing on the barges and slackened the face wires by using the winch controls in the pilothouse, 

hoping that the vessel would return to an even keel. He told investigators that shortly thereafter 

the engines shut down and he heard the bilge alarm sound from the engine room. He then activated 

the general alarm to alert the crew of the emergency. As the relief captain recalled in a written 

statement, he was not aware that the engine room door was “partly” open at the time.

 

3 Pilot is a term used aboard towing vessels on inland waterways for a person, other than the captain, who 

navigates the vessel. 
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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While the Alfred P Cenac III was astern of the 

heeling vessel, the relief captain on the Savage Ingenuity

contacted the pilot of the Alfred P Cenac III via radio to 

state that the vessel was “listing bad” and the engines “shut 

down.” The Alfred P Cenac III reached the starboard side 

of the tow and began pushing it. However, the pilot noticed

that his own vessel was beginning to heel and therefore 

immediately backed away. 

The captain and tankerman (both off-duty) on board 

the Savage Ingenuity were in their cabins. The captain 

stated that he was asleep when he felt the boat heeling, 

which prompted him to go on deck where he saw water 

entering the engine room. Immediately, he instructed the 

crew to escape from the vessel onto the barges. The 

tankerman off watch also stated that he felt the towboat 

heel, discovered that it was taking on water, and then 

evacuated to the barge. The tankerman on watch stated that 

he was in the galley with the deckhand when he felt the boat 

leaning and saw water entering the galley. Before 

evacuating to the barges, both he and the deckhand went 

upstairs to the pilothouse, ensuring along the way that the 

other crewmembers were awake. 

The Savage Ingenuity partially sank to the second 

deck, with its bow held up by the head line attached to the 

barges. All five crewmembers safely evacuated to the 

barges, from where they boarded the Alfred P Cenac III to 

be taken ashore. Crewmembers of both vessels estimated 

that the time of the sinking was about 0035.

The partially sunken Savage Ingenuity and the two 

empty tank barges partly obstructed the waterway as 

response and salvage efforts commenced. According to the 

organization responding to the oil spill, initial efforts to 

deploy a containment boom around the vessel were not 

possible because of the strong easterly current, estimated to 

be about 6 knots. The US Coast Guard had to manage traffic 

through the area until cleanup and salvage efforts were 

completed.

Four days later, on September 9, the Savage 

Ingenuity was lifted out of the water by a salvage company. 

All spaces on the vessel were pumped out, and the vessel 

was refloated. There was no evidence of any damage to the 

hull. The following day, the vessel was towed away to be

drydocked for repairs. The company stated that neither of 

the barges were damaged.

Sequence of movements by Alfred P 

Cenac III (gray vessel), as described 

by pilot: (1) initial pushing position; 

(2) relocation to starboard side of tow 

following Savage Ingenuity’s list to 

starboard and loss of power to 

engines; and (3) approximate final 

positions after sinking of Savage 

Ingenuity. Vessels not drawn to scale.
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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A post-casualty survey of the vessel stated that all the spaces from the second deck and 

below, including fuel and potable water tanks, and the forward storage and aft buoyancy 

compartments, were found fouled with mud, silt, and oily residue. The vents for the Savage 

Ingenuity’s fuel tanks were not fitted with ball check valves to prevent the release of oil. Although

all doors and hatches were found closed once the vessel was brought to the surface, the Coast 

Guard noted that salvage divers had secured all doors and hatches, capped vents, and placed bags 

over the stacks before the vessel was lifted out of the water. The doors and hatches that divers 

found open were not specifically noted.

Savage Ingenuity and two empty tank barges on south bank of waterway postaccident. Aft view 

shows water up to second deck on starboard side of towboat. (Photos by Coast Guard)

At the time of the sinking, the Savage Ingenuity had approximately 12,000 gallons of diesel 

oil, 157 gallons of lube oil, and 90 gallons of gear oil on board. The Coast Guard estimated that 

approximately 11,800 gallons of marine diesel oil were discharged into the Gulf Intracoastal 

Waterway, but only approximately 200 gallons were recovered.

Postaccident drug and alcohol testing was conducted on the crew. All results were negative,

except for the tankerman on watch who tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol.

4

Analysis

Once the Savage Ingenuity was brought back to the surface, the manholes for the watertight 

tanks and voids were found to be in place and closed. No damage to the hull was found, aside from 

 

4 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is an impairing compound in marijuana.
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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the effects of bottom contact and salvage operations. Thus, there was no notable preaccident hull 

damage that would have caused or contributed to the sinking.

According to the relief captain on the Savage Ingenuity, he did not think the starboard 

engine room door was open at the time the vessel started to heel to starboard and take on water on 

deck. However, the pilot of the Alfred P Cenac III stated that he saw the engine room doors open 

at the time of the sinking. Further, the captain of the Savage Ingenuity stated that he observed water 

flooding into the engine room. The tow was maneuvering about perpendicular to the strong 

eastbound current at the time it began heeling. Given the vessel’s low freeboard, water washed 

onto the main deck, reaching the sill of the open engine room door, and downflooded into the 

engine room.5 Once water continuously flooded into the engine room, the list increased, and the 

engines stopped operating. The flooding overwhelmed the towboat’s reserve buoyancy, causing 

the vessel to sink.

On towboats, doors to the engine room are often left open to allow for cooling and

circulation. The Savage Ingenuity was not fitted with adequate ventilation and cooling systems to 

allow for the engine room doors to be continuously closed when the engines were running. 

Consequently, the heat generated in the engine room would also affect the vessel’s adjacent 

accommodation spaces, where existing ventilation and air conditioning systems could not account 

for the heat. The engine room doors, therefore, were left open.

Although the relief captain stated that the bilge alarm activated, the vessel’s bilge pump 

was not started. However, with the rapid ingress of water into the engine room through an open 

door, the bilge pump likely would not have been able to keep up with the high volume of water 

and thereby prevent the sinking. 

According to the company’s standard operating procedures, while the vessel is operating 

as a light boat (without any barges in tow), “all hatches (Galley, Engine Room, & Front Hold) on 

the weather deck shall remain in the closed position.” Because the Savage Ingenuity was faced up 

to the barges at the time, this procedure did not technically apply. There was no procedure in place 

at the time of the accident for management of watertight integrity of the towboat when faced up to 

barges or during an emergency release of the face wires. After the accident, the company updated 

the standard operating procedure by requiring that “all hatches, doors (weather tight and water

tight), and porthole[s] (Galley, Engine Room, & Front Hold) on the weather deck shall remain in 

the closed position” when the vessel is under way. This procedure was also added as a task on the 

pre-voyage departure checklist.

Probable Cause

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the 

flooding and sinking of the towing vessel Savage Ingenuity was the absence of company 

procedures requiring the closure of weather deck doors at all times while the vessel was under way, 

which resulted in rapid downflooding into the engine room when the vessel heeled while

perpendicular to a strong current with the head of its tow pushed into a river bank.

 

5 Freeboard is the distance between the waterline and uppermost watertight deck. On the Savage Ingenuity, the 

main deck was the uppermost watertight deck.
Flooding and Sinking of Towing Vessel Savage Ingenuity

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Vessel Particulars

Vessel Vessel Name

Owner / operator Savage Inland Marine

Port of registry Gibson, Louisiana

Flag United States

Type Towing vessel

Year built 2012

Official number (US) 1243320

IMO number N/A

Construction Welded steel

Classification Society N/A

Length 68.0 ft (20.7 m)

Draft 9.5 ft (2.9 m)

Beam/width 28.0 ft (8.5 m)

Gross and/or ITC tonnage 121 gross tons

Engine power; manufacturer 1,880 hp / 2 X 940 hp (5,369 kW); Mitsubishi S12A2, twin 

propeller

Persons on board 5

NTSB investigators worked closely with our counterparts from Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Lake 

Charles (Louisiana) throughout this investigation.

For more details about this accident, visit www.ntsb.gov and search for NTSB accident ID

DCA17FM026.

Issued: August 31, 2018

The NTSB has authority to investigate and establish the probable cause of any major marine casualty or any marine 

casualty involving both public and nonpublic vessels under Title 49 United States Code, 1131. This report is based on 

factual information either gathered by NTSB investigators or provided by the Coast Guard from its informal 

investigation of the accident.

The NTSB does not assign fault or blame for a marine casualty; rather, as specified by NTSB regulation, “[NTSB] 

investigations are fact-finding proceedings with no formal issues and no adverse parties . . . and are not conducted for

the purpose of determining the rights or liabilities of any person.” Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, 831.4. 

Assignment of fault or legal liability is not relevant to the NTSB’s statutory mission to improve transportation safety 

by conducting investigations and issuing safety recommendations. In addition, statutory language prohibits the 

admission into evidence or use of any part of an NTSB report related to an accident in a civil action for damages 

resulting from a matter mentioned in the report. Title 49 United States Code, 1154(b).