March 12, 2016
ALBANY, NY – The name of the one of the three people who died the Saturday morning tugboat accident, has been released. Timothy Conklin, 29, Westbury, Long Island.
Updated Video – 3:12pm Sunday Afternoon:
Summary of Incident
Early Saturday morning, three tugboats were transporting a barge with construction equipment southbound on the Hudson River. The barge and accompanying tugs did not come down the middle of a 600-foot-wide U.S. Coast Guard designated channel, instead approaching too close to a construction barge stationed next to Pier 31, where work on the Tappan Zee bridge replacement is happening. One of those tugs, by the name of Specialist, struck the Tappan Zee barge and sunk.
Tappan Zee Constructors, the builders of the bridge replacement, had a crew of 21 workers on their barge at the time; none were injuries when the tugboat struck.
After striking the barge, the tugboat began leaking up to 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel, creating a fuel slick approximately 100 yards wide and 5 miles long.
