Company loses bid to limit liability in Bayou Ramos bridge strike

A Port Allen shipping company lost in its attempt in federal court to limit its liability for the 2021 barge strike that slowed traffic on the Bayou Ramos bridge for more than four years.
Deloach Marine Services LLC went to U.S. District Court to invoke a provision in federal maritime law that could have limited its liability to the value of the vessel that struck the bridge and the freight it carried. But to receive that protection, Deloach had to show that its vessel was seaworthy and manned by a competent crew at the time of the Dec. 23, 2021, barge strike.
The latter was the key to U.S. District Judge John deGravelles’ Monday ruling in the Middle District of Louisiana.
DeGravelles ruled that Deloach isn’t entitled to the liability protection. He wrote that “the Court finds that the MISS MOLLYE D was unseaworthy by virtue of an insufficiently trained and incompetent crew member.”
DeGravelles also wrote that the company didn’t ensure that Joseph Giordano Jr., the man at the helm on the night of the strike, was adequately trained in the use of the Rose Point navigation software, a key factor in testimony about the incident.
The judge wrote that Deloach “reasonably could have discovered Giordano’s incompetence, both in Rose Point and generally.”
Deloach had argued that the strike was the result of a mistake by an otherwise competent crewman.
If Deloach had won in court, its liability would have been limited to about $677,000 plus interest. Now it may be responsible for damages to St. Mary Water and Sewer Commission No. 1 infrastructure, estimated at $589,000 three years ago, and damage to the bridge that required $1.7 million to repair.
That determination will result from settlement talks or further court action.
Monday’s ruling came about 1-1/2 years since the parties made their arguments in federal court.
The water commission and the Department of Transportation and Development are listed as “claimants” in opposition to Deloach’s request for the liability cap.
Deloach, which is now owned by Intracoastal Tug & Barge, did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of the strike resulted in a finding that the strike was caused by “a loss of control of the tow by the pilot at the helm of the towing vessel, likely due to impairment by factors such as fatigue or drug use.”
All five crew members on the Miss Mollye D passed urine tests for drug use. But tests on a hair sample from Giordano, conducted five months after the strike, showed traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other substances, the NTSB said.
The agency also noted that the Miss Mollye D pilots were on a watch schedule calling for six hours on and six hours off. The NTSB cited research indicating that the six-hour watch rotation is more likely to result in fatigue than a four-hours-on, eight-hours-off rotation.
Giordano had worked for Deloach in four separate stints beginning in 2010. He was certified as steersman in January 2021.
According to the NTSB, the crash occurred at 3:26 a.m. Dec. 23 that year. The Miss Mollye D was towing six barges, two loaded with scrap metal and four empty, from the Houston area to New Orleans.
In the minutes leading up to the strike, Giordano was preoccupied by what he perceived to be the threat of fog in the area. The NTSB report said that 20 minutes before the strike, Giordano allowed the vessel to veer to port, blocking the Bayou Boeuf channel for 8 minutes northwest of the bridge while he considered whether to move ahead.
When he did, he passed a westbound vessel. As the Miss Mollye D approached the bridge, the tow began veering to port.
At the time, according to testimony in the liability case, Giordano spent minutes checking the Rose Point navigation system for weather information.
Testimony for the claimants said viewing the Rose Point weather information crowded course and speed information off the computer screen at the helm.
Giordano was using the Rose Point weather feature during the 3 minutes between the time the vessel began veering to port and the bridge strike by one of the barges.
Giordano made no move to report the strike either to fellow crew members or the Coast Guard. He said later that he didn’t realize one of the barges had hit the bridge.
Authorities learned of the strike three hours later, when ruptured utility infrastructure set off alarms.
The damage to the bridge led the DOTD to restrict traffic on the bridge to a single lane. Traffic signals were used to alternately allow eastbound and westbound traffic to pass.
The signals were removed and two-way traffic was restored in January 2026.