Pilot of Grounded Tug Sentenced for Negligence

Gerold Holt Bosarge was sentenced June 12 in United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama to a violation of Title 46, United States Code, Section 2302(b), Negligent Operations and Interfering with Safe Operations, a class A misdemeanor, United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced. Bosarge received one year of probation.

The conduct occurred June 2, 2014, when Bosarge was piloting the tow vessel Lady Lone Star pushing a 175 foot barge loaded with 171,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The vessel ran aground in Bayou St. John just north of Ono Island and Perdido Pass. The vessel was approximately one mile off course from the Intracoastal Waterway. Bosarge later admitted to being under the influence of prescription medication that was prescribed to him as well as prescription medication that belonged to another individual while he was piloting the vessel.