Rex W. Hughes v. Conticarriers and Terminals, Inc., Cross-Appellee

EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge.

River towboats push rather than tow their cargo. M/V Conti-Karla, built in 1980, was designed to push fleets of 15 or more barges on the Mississippi. Maneuvering a chain of barges, with power from far astern, is possible only if the barges are lashed tightly with *1196steel cables, to each other and to the towboat. Cables between the bow or face of the towboat and the closest barge are called facewires. Towboats sit low in the water, while barges may ride higher, especially if unladen. To prevent it from driving under the barges, a towboat has a pair of sturdy pillars,…