Tugboat Injures Shrimp Trawler and Mate

A shrimp trawler and his mate, a shrimp picker, were injured when a tugboat pushing a barge overtook their stern at night and nearly swamped their vessel in Bayou Grand Caillou near Dulac, Louisiana. We were able to prove that the tug boat was traveling at a high rate of speed and either ignored its radar readings or its radar beam was deflected by cargo on the barge it was pushing. The trial judge awarded damages to the shrimper and his mate but reduced the award to the shrimp boat captain because the Judge found that the shrimp boat did not have adequate lighting.