Mel Oliver Steersman Testifies

In this photo, released by the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Melissa Harper, investigating officer into the collision between the towing vessel Mel Oliver and motor vessel Tintomara, asks John Paul Bavaret II, steersman apprentice aboard the towing vessel Mel Oliver, questions during a formal hearing in the federal courthouse in , Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008. The hearing is being held to investigate the cause of the July 23 collision between the towing vessel Mel Oliver and the motor vessel Tintomara, which caused a barge loaded with No. 6 fuel to spill and sink in the Mississippi River near downtown .

U.S. Coast Guard photograph / Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson

(Source: Coast Guard)