re: On this date in 1976, George Prince (Luling) Ferry Disaster

I got the Coast Guard 6 pax license about 10 years ago and there is very specific instruction about vessel right of weigh in the river. Heavily weighted on who has the least maneuverability.
Ship/barge string coming downstream has the highest priority, because the speed of the current must be over come to have any steerage. Makes the vessel go fast
Ship/barge string going upstream has the next priority, running engine at high rate to overcome current, and limited ability to maneuver right or left because of distance to bank
Ship/barge string going across current has the lowest priority, short voyage and opportunity to look up and down before cast off

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…lawyer Danny Becnel…

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At the time, one of the alternative newspapers (Gris Gris? NOLA?) ran an article “How to Make a Million Dollars.” A picture of a vulture and subtitle “Go to law school and sit on the levee and wait.” Aimed at Becnel.

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y dad worked at Monsanto also and in the 1970 period when the first Roundup production facility was operated he used to bring home samples bottles of 100 % stuff that we used for weeding the vegetable garden. Tremendous labor saver. Glycol Phosphate weed killer is still a useful tool and the money grubbing lawyers destroyed a good company

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We had a few of those bottles laying around too. Kind of a short but thick bottle that was clear and unlabeled.

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The ferry was flipped over and most people were in their vehicles and never got a chance to save themselves.

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I just read that all the survivors had been on the port side and had been able to see tanker in last second(s) before collision or like you mentioned see others on that side reacting to it.

The starboard side got zero warning and was almost immediately pushed under water as ferry flipped over and trapping them in cars as they submerged.

It was interesting read as it went over how the custom and normally followed procedures for area differed from the law. The state had also previously gotten coast guard to stop random inspections as the ferry wasn’t a “for hire” service. Similar may have occurred elsewhere, but It just seemed so Louisiana.

Besides being impaired the ferry caption did a lot wrong including not announcing departure, had one radar off with other not used, not hearing or listening to radio which was tuned in to same channel tanker tried to call even before ferry turned to start crossing, not hearing tanker blowing horn as he likely shut all windows and doors without having a lookout, going less upstream and starting cross earlier than usual, not signaling that they were crossing at all or to tanker they were crossing in front (likely never saw it until too late to avoid some kind of collision), and depending on when he saw tanker did not attempt to turn boat to at least get more of a glancing blow (only a very small window to do this once collusion inevitable). Maybe others.

It was the custom in area for small crossing boats to give way to the larger ones going upstream and down. Based on that the ferry should have stopped/slowed and waited or gone downstream to cross behind, but since at the time of accident the law was to give way to starboard approaching vehicles the coast guard still had to fault the tanker’s local pilot and its Captain saying it should have shut down or reversed engines as soon as they still couldn’t get a response from the ferry after seeing it begin to it cross ahead instead of continuing to wait a little longer to keep blowing horn and continuing to attempt to radio the ferry before going full astern too late. A collision still might have occurred especially since Captain of ferry didn’t see the tanker and was impaired, but it likely wouldn’t have been as bad if one at all.

The same ferry with a different captain was also involved in a similar situation as far as reason but without fatalities 2 years before.

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The States Item?

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The Times-Picayune bought the States-Item before 1976. It was in the ‘60s or late ‘50s.

The T-P was the morning paper and the S-I was the afternoon paper for a while, they were both owned by the same company in 1976 when this incident occurred.

I knew a couple of people who died that day. They were related by marriage. But I worked with a guy who was riding in the cabin and he said that he looked up and realized that they were fixing to be broadsided. He said he ran out the opposite door and jumped into the back of a pick-up. He said that when the ferry flipped he was trapped under water inside the back of the truck. He said for some reason, probably the trapped air it flipped over allowing him to escape. He said he had his eyes wide open and it was pitch black. He said he swam as hard as he could straight up and just when he thought his lungs were going to burst from holding his breath. His head cleared the water. He said that he came up right next the capsized ferry and a few people had already climbed on it. They helped him up. He said he watched cars sinking with people inside pounding on their back window trying to get out. He said one car had 2 young women just feet from where he was and he watched them go down. I asked him why he didn't jump back in and try to save them and he said. Man you don't understand, I was so glad to be safe that nothing could have made me get back into that water.

I was three months shy of my 6th birthday, but I remember it well. It was all over the news at the time. Was the first major tragedy I can remember being aware of.

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And in later years, it was hazardous spills, breast implants and big tobacco. Danny seemingly never slept.

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Yep… The ferry accident was just the start…

He also represented Drew Brees in that jewelry scam case before he died….