ALJ Decision in First Marine, LLC, OSHRC Docket No. 18-1288, Directed for Review

This case centers on the ill-fated William E. Strait (the William), an inland river towboat. In 2015, barges pushed by another towboat on the Mississippi River struck the William as she pushed barges destined for New Orleans down the Mississippi River, causing the William to sink just south of Memphis, Tennessee. Three salvage crews working together raised the William on February 7, 2016 and transported her to a shipyard on the Tennessee River in Calvert City, Kentucky, which was owned and operated by the Respondent, First Marine, LLC. First Marine and its subcontractors began repairing and rebuilding the William, which was first in dry dock and then moored to the shipyard dock string on the Tennessee River. On the morning of January 18, 2018, an explosion ripped through the William, killing three workers, and seriously injuring several others. The United States Department of Labor, through its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), investigated the accident, along with the Kentucky State Police and the United States Coast Guard. None of the authorities investigating the explosion, including OSHA, were able to determine definitively the cause of the explosion.