The city has hired a new tugboat operator for a sludge-hauling contract following this month's fatal Ride the Ducks tour boat crash on the Delaware River.
Two young Hungarian tourists died when a 250-foot barge driven by a tug collided with a Ride the Ducks boat, causing it to capsize and sink in the river. K-Sea Transportation, the tugboat firm whose contract with the city is now suspended, has not said yet whether there was a lookout on the barge on July 7 when it crashed into the tour boat.
Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter, says McAllister Towing & Transportation Co., based in Gloucester City, N.J., will provide service on a month-to-month basis.
Oliver says K-Sea Transportation agreed to suspend its contract pending findings of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
K-Sea Transportation did not immediately return calls seeking comment Monday.
The city says it is ordering the new company to post lookouts on the barges.
Philly Hires New Tugboat Firm After Duck Boat Crash
City contract with tugboat firm that hauled barge into Ride the Ducks boat is suspended
Copyright AP - Associated Press
