12 News KBMT and K-JAC. News, Weather and Sports for SE TexasCoast Guard hearing on Otome collision begins

Coast Guard hearing on Otome collision begins

In an effort to prevent future accidents in the Sabine Neches Waterway, the Coast Guard began formal hearings in Port Arthur Tuesday morning to determine the cause of the Eagle Otome collision.

The room at the Park Central Holiday Inn in Port Arthur was filled with Coast Guard officials and attorneys, waiting to hear from witnesses involved in the January 23rd collision on the Sabine Transit Waterway.

"We're part of the community - we live here as well and these waterways go right through our communities, and we want to make sure that population is as safe as possible" said Ofc. Patrick Kelley with the U.S. Coast Guard.

The hearing is meant to lay-out the facts of the accident to determine what should be done about the safety of the waterway.

"Whatever we can learn from this I think everyone's willing to take away some lessons" said attorney for AET Limited Darrell Wilson.

In the first day of testimony, Master Pallava Shukla of the Eagle Otome claimed that bad visibility along with strong winds pushing the ship into the passing lane attributed to the collision, along with the fact that he was unaware of any passing arrangements with the Dixie Vengeance.

Video and audio recordings presented in the hearing proved both ships knew they were close, but not that they were about to collide.  Gathering all the facts, the participating agencies hope the communication will help to prevent any such future collisions.

"I would equate it to a puzzle - and when everyone's finished speaking hopefully the coast guard and NTS board can piece this all together and tells us exactly what happened" said Wilson.

"We want to ensure that our neighbors are taken care of - that's why we take this seriously - these are our waterways as well as yours" said Kelley.

The hearing is expected to last into next week, which is open to the public - but no recording devices are allowed.