Captain credited with smart, fast decisions in Port Richey casino boat fire

PORT RICHEY — Michael Batten, the captain of the casino shuttle boat that caught fire Sunday afternoon, made smart, fast decisions that saved lives, according to a spokeswoman for the boat’s owner.

Batten, captain of the Island Lady, decided against handing out life jackets— a choice questioned by one passenger — and instead ran the vessel aground because flames were spreading so fast, said Beth Fifer, spokeswoman for Tropical Breeze Casino Cruise.

"If we would have taken the time to hand out life jackets, we would be talking several deaths right now," Fifer said. Batten made the decision "knowing that if he ran it aground, he was in shallow enough water where life jackets were not a tool that he was going to be able to use."

BACK STORY: More on the Pasco casino operator whose boat caught fire

One of the 50 passengers who jumped from the ship died while undergoing treatment. Carrie Dempsey, a 42-year-old mother of two from Lutz, was pronounced dead 10:42 p.m. Sunday while being treated at Bayonet Point Regional Medical Center.

Fifer’s statement about Batten’s actions echoes comments made Sunday night by Andrew Fossa, chief of the Pasco County Fire Rescue.

"The boat captain did a phenomenal job of getting the boat so close to shore," Fossa said.

A passenger on board also lauded Batten’s actions but still questioned why life jackets weren’t issued.

"I really value the captain, because he got us into three to four feet of water," said Robert Handzus, 62, of Odessa. "If it was five to six feet of water, I guarantee 20 people would have been dead. The captain did a wonderful job of making decisions in real time to get us to a place where once we got out of the boat, we had a chance to walk to shore."

Handzus, however, said passengers should have been given the flotation devices.

"They knew it was going bad for five minutes and they didn’t pass out any life vests," he said.

Before directing them to abandon the burning ship, the crew of the Island Lady moved passengers around the 72-foot wood-hulled vessel as fire began smouldering on both sides, Handzus said.

"At first, they told us to go to the top deck," he said. "Then they told us to go down to the bow, and we had to jump off the bow."

Handzus, an Air Force veteran who had military training, said he was calm during the chaos Sunday evening, but not all the passengers were.

"There were about a half-dozen people panicking," he said. "It was a real mess for the 70- and 80-year-olds. People were yelling out for life vests."

Handzus said he jumped from the bow and hit the water 10 feet below then got up and walked to shore.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Mother of two dies after Port Richey boat fire

Fifer dismissed concerns raised by Hanzus, saying he is a regular passenger and "frequent complainer" about issues on board. Hanzus, she said, "does not have the credentials to accurately complain" about what happened Sunday night.

The boat, built in 1994, passed a Coast Guard inspection in March 2017, which was good until November 2018, according to Coast Guard records.

The Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Medical Examiner all launched investigations.

Fifer, the Tropical Breeze spokeswoman, said Monday she had spoken to Dempsey’s father.

"We are just deeply saddened by the loss of that passenger and about any pain or trouble that has been caused to our passengers relating to this incident," she said.

Fifer said she did not know what went wrong with the vessel.

"If we had any type of idea that there was a problem, we wouldn’t have left the dock," she said. "There was no inkling that there was any problems with that vessel whatsoever."

In October 2014, a shuttle for the same casino operator caught fire in the Pithlachascotee River while only a captain and two crew members were on board. They all survived, rescued by a passing boat.

The $800,000 Express Shuttle II was a total loss, according to a NTSB investigative report on the incident. The shuttle had just delivered 78 people to a casino boat.

NTSB found that the blaze was likely caused by a broken, improperly installed fuel injection line, which allowed diesel fuel to spill onto the engine and catch fire.

The company, then called Paradise of Port Richey, did not have a preventive maintenance program, which the NTSB said could have identified the problem before the fire. The boat also had a had a faulty fire detection system.

The Island Lady also has had a number of maintenance and inspection issues — including a broken cable and fire extinguisher bracket and improper wiring and identification — but most of them were taken care of immediately or within a few days, according to a Coast Guard Port State Information Exchange report.

A separate Coast Guard report also notes an incident on board that led to the death of a passenger. There was no indication in the report that the ship owners were cited in the incident.

On April 11, 2016, a woman tripped and fell while going from the main weather deck into the main cabin. She suffered a broken right hip. The vessel returned to the dock, where emergency medical services was waiting to take her to a hospital. The passenger had surgery but died in the hospital three days later.

Michael T. Moore of Coral Gables, a leading Florida maritime attorney, said there are some clear questions for those investigating the Sunday fire.

"The first thing that should be looked into is if everyone on board has a life vest," Moore said.

"Generally speaking … a smaller vessel that gets people back and forth to a big vessel, everybody needs a life vest," Moore said. "They can capsize very easily. This is just a fundamental thing."

Investigators will also need to consider what captain’s instructions were given at the beginning of the trip, what safety measures were followed, and if the boat was up to date on any suggested repairs, he said.

Moore said he was surprised a fire could break out in the way described aboard a boat that had been inspected less than a year ago.

"Frankly, it strikes me as nuts," he said.

The Coast Guard will eventually produce a formal report following its investigation, but that could take months, he said.

This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.

Staff writers Sara DiNatale and Zack Sampson contributed to this report. Contact Howard Altman at [email protected] or (813) 225-3112. Follow @haltman.