MV Bright Field was a bulk cargo ship that collided with the Riverwalk Marketplace shopping complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the afternoon of Saturday, December 14, 1996, after losing engine power.
The United States Coast Guard investigated the incident and published its findings on December 8, 1997, citing the cause of the engine failure as a poorly-maintained oil filter.
[1] A secondary, but contributory, cause was determined to be a main-engine automation system that produced warnings and alarms that were not consistently relayed to the ship's master.
The National Transportation Safety Board published its final report on January 13, 1998, which concurred with the Coast Guard's determinations and appeared to charge the ship's operating company with the responsibility for the casualty.
Damage to the Riverwalk, including the pier, condominium properties, shops and hotel, totaled an estimated $15 million.