Top Mariners on Ill-Fated Tanker Remain on the Job

The two top mariners on the ill-fated tanker American Trader that spilled 394,000 gallons of oil off Orange County remained on the job this week.

John E. Keon, the mooring master on board during the accident, said he worked this week as a pilot on vessels unloading oil at an offshore mooring in Louisiana.

As a mooring master, Keon hires out his services to a variety of ships, offering guidance and knowledge of local waters during maneuvers to berth at offshore moorings. He was fulfilling that task aboard the American Trader last week when the ship apparently gored itself on its anchor while attempting to moor at a sea berth off Huntington Beach.

Meanwhile, the ship’s skipper, Capt. Robert La Ware, remains as the chief officer of the American Trader. Sanford Schmidt, president of American Trading Transportation, said he still has faith in La Ware and has retained him as captain of the American Trader. La Ware was at the helm when the ship returned to the port earlier this week on its own power.

Alcohol and drug tests on both men were negative, and preliminary indications are that the accident was not related to their conduct, Coast Guard officials said.

La Ware has worked for American Trading Transportation for 30 years. Keon, 41, of San Jacinto, has been a mooring master at the sea berth off Huntington Beach for more than five years and a mariner for almost 24 years. He comes from a family of sailors. His father sailed with a lumber ship, and his brother is a pilot for ships in the San Francisco Bay Area, friends say.