On May 14, American Commercial Lines released the following statement regarding a fatality at its Jeffboat boat building yard:
"This has been a very difficult week for all of us at Jeffboat. Thursday afternoon an industrial accident occurred at Jeffboat resulting in the fatality of one of our employees, David Martin. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and co-workers during this difficult time," Ken Martin, VP & GM of Jeffboat, said.
"Despite Jeffboat's constantly improving safety record, and the fact that the facility meets or exceeds OSHA standards at all of its work stations, it is still a heavy metal manufacturing plant with all of the challenges of an outdoor assembly line."
Martin added, "We have a talented and experienced work force. Together, labor and management work to reduce and eliminate risk in the yard. These tragic events are a sobering reminder that, even with the best safety plan and the best employees, it is extremely difficult to totally eliminate risk. We remain committed to continue working on the elimination of all risk."