Towboat master Richard Roberts reported water leaks to his employer, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said Tuesday, but was told to take the tow on its Ohio River assignment hours before it sank near Anderson Ferry on Monday.

The towboat Robert M sinks sinks into the Ohio River near the Anderson ferry Monday as another tow races in to rescue the crew of the stricken vessel. (Photo provided by Don Phelps) | ZOOM |

        On Tuesday, the Coast Guard suspended Mr. Roberts' license for 30 days and said the owner of the tow, George McGinnis Inc. of Sayler Park, faces serious questions about what it was told — and how it responded.

        The 60-foot Robert M. sank in the Ohio just before 5 p.m Monday about 1,000 feet downriver from Anderson Ferry. Two people on the vessel — Mr. Roberts and a deckhand — were pulled from the water by the crew of another towboat.

        Lt. Cmdr. Robert Bowen said Mr. Roberts of Cincinnati has no record of Coast Guard violations in his 25-year career. He called Mr. Roberts “an excellent mariner” who possibly saved lives when he steered the tow to within 300 feet of the Kentucky riverbank — out of the commercial navigation lane.

        Still, as master, he was responsible for the operation of the boat.

        McGinnis also faces fines up to $25,000 and cleanup and recovery costs that could exceed several hundred thousand dollars, Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said. A man who answered the phone Tuesday at McGinnis declined comment.

Robert Page, a deckhand on the Anderson Ferry, saw the Robert M sick Monday (Michael E. Keating photos) | ZOOM |

        It could take one to two weeks before the river level drops low enough to safely raise the tow, which is 60 feet long and 22 feet wide.

        With about 20 to 30 feet from the top of the hull to the surface, concern over it being hit by another boat or a barge grows as the river recedes, Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said. A lighted buoy was placed at the site Tuesday and advisories were dispatched.

        It is not known how much of the tow's 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel has leaked. The spill has slowed to “one to two drops per minute” and does not pose an environmental threat because the rain-swollen river has quickly dissipated the fuel.

        While the choppy waters helped minimize the leak, the same condition “definitely contributed” to the boat's sinking, Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said.

Don Phelps of Anderson Ferry saw the Robert M sink around 5 p.m. Monday. | ZOOM |

        It was “one of the strangest things I've ever seen,” Anderson Ferry Capt. Don Phelps said as he crossed the river Tuesday, pointing to the point where the Robert M. went down.

        “It looked like something right out of a movie,” he said. “I heard his mayday call on the radio. They said "stay calm' and he said "That's what I'm trying to do.'”

        Mr. Phelps, an 11-year ferry veteran, makes an average of 32 round trips across the river each day, and had never seen a boat sink before.

        The river can look deceptively calm from the riverbank. News of the sinking created concern for some.

        “I was worried,” said Delhi native Ruthy Dew, 73, of Clearwater, Fla., before driving onto the ferry. “But it looks smooth to me.”

OHIO RIVER LEVELS

• Monday ....... 35' 6”     • Tuesday ....... 38'     • Crest by Friday ....... 42'     • Level needed to safely raise the Robert M. ....... 30-35'     Source: U.S. Coast Guard

        It wasn't.

        Mr. Phelps called the Ohio “still choppy, but not as bad as last week.”

        An earlier master on the Robert M. reported no problems.

        But when Mr. Roberts came aboard, he told McGinnis there was water in the hull compartment and engine room, and the tow was listing, with a nearly 2.5-foot differential.

        He was told by McGinnis to “dewater,” or pump the water out, Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said.

        Mr. Roberts repeated that process twice more while on the river.

        “The vessel had three hull (leaks) and was listing when he took it at 8:25 a.m.,” Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said. “(The company) agreed with my findings that there was a failure to communicate, a failure in company policy. And they're working to address those.”

        The same tow, then named the Midwestern, sank in 1981 near the Markland Dam in Gallatin County, killing master Virgil Humphrey of Hebron, according to an Enquirer article from June 12, 1981.

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