Report on Capsizing Focuses on Captain But her Family's Attorney Disputes the Findings Dan Shine, Staff Writer Detroit Free Press, October 12, 2002 Copyright 2003 Detroit Free Press In the eerie predawn darkness on the Detroit River, the two bobbed in the 53-degree water and watched the 44-foot boat slowly slip bow-first underwater as its propeller furiously spun in the air. The boat's captain and deckhand drowned. Nearly a year after the Oct. 23, 2001, sinking, the U.S. Coast Guard issued its official report Friday of what happened. But not everyone agrees with the findings. The investigation concludes that a number of factors caused the Westcott to sink as it approached the 533-foot tanker Sidsel Knutsen to exchange pilots. The Westcott took on a lot of water as it tried to get close to the tanker, causing it to lose stability, capsize and sink 34 feet to the river bottom, the report found. The Westcott was later retrieved and refurbished. The report said Westcott captain Cathy Nasiatka failed to adequately assess the suction effect the tanker -- loaded with 35,000 gallons of gasoline -- would have on the Westcott. However, Dennis O'Bryan, an attorney representing the families of Nasiatka and deckhand Dave Lewis, condemned the report. He called it a "lapdog suck-up to the powers that be," referring to the Westcott company, the Canadian oil tankers and the Great Lakes pilots associations. The report "absolves the living and condemns the dead," O'Bryan said. According to the report, a tug typically sits lower in the water and lists to one side when running alongside a freighter or tanker. The effect increases near the stern of deep-draft ships such as the Knutsen, the report said. The two rescued pilots said they remember Lewis asking Nasiatka, "Are you stuck?" as she struggled to free the Westcott from the Knutsen's pull. "Yes, I'm stuck," Nasiatka replied, according to the pilots. Nasiatka pulled alongside the Knutsen too close to the tanker's stern, the report said. Usually, the Westcott would travel in the opposite direction of the tanker or freighter it was meeting, then swing around so it was parallel to the vessel near the front. It would then run alongside the tanker until the ladder used by pilots to climb aboard could be reached. Although the report said the speed of the tanker was not a factor, it said a lower speed would have resulted in less water flooding the Westcott. Also, if the Westcott's two cargo doors were watertight -- although they are not required to be -- it likely would not have lost stability, the report determined. Finally, the two vessels failed to communicate after an initial contact about an hour before the sinking. The Knutsen crew said the Westcott arrived early and at a spot 2,900 yards away from where they expected it. Therefore, the Knutsen pilot was below deck and not at the tanker's controls. Other Westcott captains said it's common for the tug not to communicate with a ship once on the water because the noisy engine makes radio talk hard to hear. Also, there's an assumption the freighter or tanker will be ready. In its report, the Coast Guard recommended protocols for communication, speed and location when the Westcott transfers pilots. The report also said the Westcott company should review its training standards to make sure they are sufficient and forward the review to the Coast Guard. Since the accident, the Westcott now hails deep-draft ships as it approaches, when it's alongside, and when it departs. Everyone on the tug also now wears flotation devices. Nasiatka and Lewis were not wearing life jackets when the Westcott sank. The tug had 14 life jackets on board. Nasiatka went on 186 training runs before piloting the Westcott alone about a month before the accident. In that time, Nasiatka made 116 trips as Westcott captain. O'Bryan said the Coast Guard mentions the tanker's speed, Nasiatka's training, the Westcott not being watertight, how captains and deckhands weren't required to wear flotation devices and the fact that the tanker pilot wasn't at the controls of the Knutsen, "but the only one criticized was the lady." O'Bryan said Westcott company officials filed a lawsuit to limit their liability, and he said the victims' families plan to file a suit against the company. The Westcott owners could not be reached for comment. Lt. Cmdr. Sean Moon, executive officer of the Coast Guard's marine safety office in Detroit, said he didn't expect O'Bryan to admit Nasiatka was at fault. Moon said the investigation doesn't take sides. "Our role is to look at the facts and say what happened," Moon said.