Tugboat Captain Pleads Guilty After Fatal Biscayne Bay Collision Kills 3 Children

A tugboat captain has pleaded guilty to federal seaman’s manslaughter charges after admitting he failed to follow basic maritime safety rules before a collision in Florida’s Biscayne Bay that killed three children attending a sailing camp.

Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, of Miami, changed his plea to guilty this week after initially pleading not guilty to charges linked to the July 28, 2025, accident.

He faces up to 10 years in federal prison, although prosecutors, his defense team and the victims’ families have jointly recommended a sentence of one year in prison followed by six months of supervised release.

A federal judge, who is not required to follow that recommendation, is scheduled to sentence him on Oct. 13.

According to court records, Insua was operating the 25-foot tugboat Wood Chuck, pushing a construction barge across Biscayne Bay, when it struck a stalled 17-foot sailboat carrying a 19-year-old counselor and five children from a nearby sailing camp.

The construction barge was 108 feet long, 28 feet wide and weighed 149 gross tons. It was loaded with construction debris, and its forward view was blocked by a deckhouse and crane. Prosecutors said no crewmember had been assigned as a lookout.

The sailboat had lost wind and drifted into the tugboat’s path. Because Insua’s view ahead was obstructed and there was no lookout, he did not see the sailboat before the barge ran over it, trapping it beneath the hull.

Three children, aged seven, 10 and 13, became trapped under the wreckage and drowned. The counselor and two other children, aged eight and 12, survived after being dragged beneath the barge.

Prosecutors said a forensic review of Insua’s cellphone found internet activity while the tugboat was underway, including at or near the time of the collision.

“Three children lost their lives in a tragedy that never should have happened,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said.

“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. Our hearts remain with the children’s families and everyone whose lives were forever changed that day,” he said.

Insua’s lawyer, Walter A. Reynoso, said outside the courthouse that his client was “deeply remorseful” and felt “awful about the unimaginable pain and loss suffered by the three families who lost three very young daughters.”

Capt. Frank J. Florio of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector Miami said the case was a reminder of the Coast Guard’s work to keep vessels operating in U.S. waters safe through inspections, investigations, search and rescue, education and partnerships with other agencies.

“The tragic loss of life in this case is a solemn reminder of why the U.S. Coast Guard stands the watch every day,” Florio said, adding that the service remains committed to preventing similar accidents and protecting people who use the nation’s waterways.

Joshua Packer, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service’s Southeast Region, said the investigation showed the importance of cooperation between federal, state and local agencies in bringing the case to court.

The investigation was carried out by the Coast Guard Investigative Service Southeast Region, Coast Guard Sector Miami and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Prosecutors also credited the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, Miami Police Department and Miami Beach Police Department for their rescue efforts.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Gilfarb and Daniel Rosenfeld, along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl, are prosecuting the case.

The court will decide Insua’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors during the Oct. 13 sentencing hearing.

References: US DOJ