MOPS for Brown Water Officers
Brown water deck and engineering officers working on towboats, tugs, barges and other vessels involved in inland waterway commerce face a variety of risks, including:
- Collisions or allisions with other vessels, docks or equipment resulting from lost control due to engine failure
- Collisions or groundings due to unusual river conditions
- Accidental damage to underwater power cables
- Allisions with stationary objects such as bridges, buoys, beacons and channel markers
With MOPS unlimited license defense coverage, you can be on the phone with an experienced maritime attorney within minutes of an incident.
Your locally based attorney will help you handle the initial investigation and whatever else your case may bring – all at no additional cost to you.
“I recommend MOPS to every wheelman and tankerman I know.”
––Towboat Captain, Vicksburg, MS
MOPS in Action
Traveling downbound on the Mississippi River with barges in tow, a towboat pilot approached a familiar bridge. As he began to pass under the bridge, the current pulled his vessel toward the left bank, causing the port stern barge to strike the bridge. Two barges suffered damage; there was no damage to the bridge.
A MOPS attorney was immediately assigned and, during the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the U.S. Army Corps or Engineers had subsequently opened a spillway downriver from the bridge allision because several other accidents had occurred at the same location. The towboat operator was ultimately not charged.
Total value of license defense services provided: $1,500.