MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A Miami tugboat captain has pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from a Biscayne Bay collision that killed three children attending a sailing camp last year, prosecutors announced Thursday.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, 46-year-old Yusiel Lopez Insua admitted to seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the July 28, 2025, crash.
Prosecutors said Insua was operating a 25-foot tugboat that was pushing a construction barge across Biscayne Bay when it struck a stalled sailboat carrying a counselor and five children from a nearby sailing camp. The barge measured 108 feet long and 28 feet wide and was loaded with construction debris.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, 46-year-old Yusiel Lopez Insua admitted to seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the July 28, 2025, crash. (DOJ)
Federal authorities said the barge’s forward visibility was obstructed by a deckhouse and crane, and no crew member had been assigned to act as a lookout. At the same time, the sailboat lost wind and became stalled in the path of the tugboat and barge.
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Because of the obstructed view and the absence of a lookout, Insua failed to see the sailboat before the barge ran over it, according to court records. The sailboat was submerged beneath the barge’s hull.
The counselor and two children escaped after being dragged beneath the barge, but three children became trapped under the wreckage and drowned.
A forensic review of Insua’s cellphone also revealed internet activity while the tugboat was underway, including at or near the time of the collision, prosecutors said.
Three children lost their lives in a tragedy that never should have happened.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement. “Yusiel Lopez Insua operated a tugboat pushing a massive barge with an obstructed view, failed to assign a lookout, and engaged in cellphone activity while underway. He admitted that his criminal failure to follow basic maritime safety rules caused this deadly collision.”
Capt. Frank J. Florio, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami, called the case “a solemn reminder” of the importance of maritime safety and compliance with navigation rules.
“This case demonstrates the critical importance of strong partnerships among federal, state, and local agencies,” said Joshua Packer, special agent in charge of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service Southeast Region.
Insua faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date, according to the DOJ.