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Report: Officer distracted by cell phone use ahead of collision

A distracted ship operator was texting on his phone instead of doing his lookout duty when the Bunun Queen' was in collidsion with the supply vessel 'Thunder' off the coast of Louisiana on July 25, 2022, a federal agency investigation has found. The accident occurred in good visibility, daylight and fair-weather conditions. The 'Thunder' suffered flooding, and there was a total damage of $12 million to both ships, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. The 'Thunder' suffered substantial damage, and most of its 18 crew members were evacuated. The ship has not returned to service to date. The probable cause of the accident was the result of the 'Thunder's watch officer’s distraction due to cell phone use, the NTSB report concluded. The investigators found that the officer made a personal call that lasted a minute and used voice dictation on his phone to send multiple text messages, all of which were personal in nature.. The NTSB, however, also blamed the 'Bunun Queen' watch officers for not keeping a proper lookout because they were distracted with other tasks.