WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Police are investigating a claim that the captain of the tugboat that sank and killed three this winter near the Tappan Zee Bridge was helming a different boat while that captain was below deck, possibly with a woman, The Journal News has learned.
The Specialist and Realist, along with a third tugboat, Trevor, were escorting a barge with a large crane south on the Hudson River shortly before dawn March 12 when the Specialist struck a construction barge holding equipment for the new bridge.
Paul Crowley was piloting Realist even though he was Specialist’s captain. James Morrison, the captain of Realist, reportedly brought a woman along for the trip and was with her when the accident occurred, a source familiar with the investigation told The Journal News.
Westchester County police would say only that a witness recently came forward claiming that an additional person had been on the Realist who was not reported at the time of the accident.
Reached by The Journal News Wednesday, Morrison would not comment when asked if he had brought a woman on board. He said that Crowley was on the Realist “doing a watch.”
“I did my 6-hour watch. He was doing a watch,” Morrison said. “Nobody ‘covered’ for anyone.”
Crowley’s absence left Specialist’s mate-in-charge, Paul Amon, at the helm. After the impact, Amon got onto the crane barge but a video showed him returning to Specialist in an apparent attempt to help the other two crew members who were below deck. The tugboat sank quickly and he and the others, Timothy Conklin and Harry Hernandez, died.
Amon’s body was recovered that day and Conklin’s the next. Hernandez’ body was not recovered until March 24 when the sunken tugboat was raised.
Relatives of all three victims have filed multimillion-dollar federal lawsuits against the owners of Specialist and Realist, New York Marine Towing Inc.; the owner of the crane barge and Trevor, Weeks Marine; the bridge contractor Tappan Zee Constructors; and Traylor Bros., the company that operated the construction barge.
A lawyer representing Amon’s widow, Donna, said the new information about the captains was disturbing, particularly because working conditions on the trip may have left Amon fatigued.
“It’s outrageous,” said the lawyer, James Forde, when asked about Morrison possibly bringing a woman on board. “It’s just not done.”
At the time of the accident, police were told that only Crowley, Morrison and a third crew member were on board Realist. The third member has not be publicly identified, and it is unclear whether he was qualified to pilot the tug.
James Mercante, a lawyer for New York Marine Towing, said rumors that Morrison was preoccupied with a girlfriend at the time of the accident were "completely inaccurate" and that the county police investigators "know what the true facts are." He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing civil and criminal investigations.
It was unclear whether Mercante was aware of the new witness' account.
The Specialist had initially led the crane barge up to Albany. When it was directed to return with the crane to New Jersey, Crowley sought additional tugs for the job. Weeks Marine arranged for Morrison to bring Realist and later sent Trevor as well.
They had encountered heavy fog coming down the Hudson so "all hands (were) called to be out there ... nobody got much sleep,” Forde said.
Amon was qualified to pilot Specialist, Forde said, but the lawyer questioned whether he was too fatigued and might have needed Crowley to remain on Specialist.
The lawsuit includes allegations against the bridge contractors, particularly that the construction barge was configured improperly based on a Coast Guard directive for that week. The bow rake was in the front of the barge facing up river, Forde claimed. When the Specialist hit it, the tug got sucked under the bow rake. Had the barge been configured properly, Forde suggested, the tugboat would have just gotten pinned against the side of it.
Follow Jonathan Bandler on Twitter: @jonbandler
Who was on which tug at the time of the crash
Aboard the Realist
• Specialist Captain Paul Crowley
• Realist Captain James Morrison
• Unidentified crew member
• Unidentified woman?
Aboard the Specialist
• Mate-in-charge Paul Amon
• Crewmember Timothy Conklin
• Crewmember Harry Hernandez
