Summary

Daniel Sheehan, a licensed U.S. Merchant Marine Officer, was fined $3,000 by a U.S. District Court judge, in White Plains, NY, for his role in a fatal ferry accident on the Hudson River on August 23, 1998. Sheehan was piloting a water taxi with 29 passengers on board, from Nyack to Tarrytown, NY, when the boat capsized and one passenger drowned. He pleaded guilty in September to a manslaughter charge made under a Federal law that applies to owners and captains of vessels. The indictment charged that the boat lacked required authorization to operate on the Hudson River and was unfit to carry passengers. OIG investigated this case with the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the New York State Park Police.