Fatal Capsizing and Sinking of Towing Vessel Natalie Jean

About 0938 local time on March 12, 2018, the towboat Natalie Jean was pushing an empty fuel tank barge upriver on the Lower Mississippi River near New Orleans, Louisiana, when the towboat became caught on the port anchor chain of the anchored bulk carrier Atlantic Fairy. The towboat capsized and [very] quickly sank; the barge broke free and collided with the bulk carrier.

Two of the three crew members on board the towboat died in the accident, and damage estimates exceeded $500,000.