New NTSB report details causes of deadly 2024 Houston Ship Channel crash

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The National Transportation Safety Board released a new report into the collision between the bulk carrier Yangze 7 and the towing vessel Miss Peggy on the Houston Ship Channel in July 2024.

Four crew members from the towing vessel were rescued, but one died.

According to the report released Thursday, the NTSB found both the captain and the pilot were not aware of their surroundings.

The Houston pilot of Yangze 7 was on a non-work-related phone call and distracted, the report says.

The NTSB also said the crew heard the phone call and knew it was non-operational but did not say anything.

Attorney Justin Warner, connected to the case with Zehl Law and Associates, said it's so important not to be distracted while navigating the waterways.

"You want somebody operating that vessel to have their full attention, be able to maintain constant communication with their bridge team and be able to maintain monitoring of all the navigational equipment that they've got on the vessel," Warner said. "What you want to do is prevent any type of distractions. In this case, a phone call is a distraction. And unfortunately, this is something that all too often happens."

The NTSB report also found the captain of the tugboat, Miss Peggy, failed to maintain a proper lookout at the time.

NTSB investigators are now recommending to the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Pilots Association that guidance be put in place to prohibit nonoperational phone use while on the waterways.

"What should be happening is that the company should be having policies in place that prohibit their captains, or in this case, a pilot, from engaging in non-operational, non-work-related calls while they're navigating a vessel. And that's especially true when they're navigating something such as the Houston Ship Channel, which has got a lot of traffic on it," Warner said.