The US Coast Guard investigation into the July 23 Mississippi River collision between the tanker Tintomara and the barge pulled by the tugboat Mel Oliver reconvened today.

During the hearing the captain of the Tintomara testified that he believed the towboat pushing the barge caused the accident that resulted in 10,000 barrels of the barge's fuel oil spilling into the river, a report in the New Orleans Times said.

The Coast Guard investigating officer played audio recordings during the hearing, which captured the repeated call from Captain Jan Stefan Bjarve, a licensed mariner from Sweden, to the captain of the towboat.

The recording reveals that the crew aboard the Mel Oliver did not respond to repeated calls of warning from the vessel traffic controllers and the Tintomara pilot.

"Mel Oliver, Mel Oliver, back down, captain. You're crossing the bow of a ship," a vessel traffic controller shouted out over the radio.

Bjarve is also reported as having told the Coast Guard investigating officer that the Mel Oliver did not indicate that it intended to turn.

Today's meeting is the first in what could be two or more days of testimony from witnesses and presentations of evidence in the case. The Coast Guard has not scheduled an end date for the proceedings.

Witnesses expected to be called include Hans Henrik Olsson, the chief engineer of the Tintomara and Gilberto Guevarro, a seaman of the Tintomara, according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

The hearing was originally due to begin on Tuesday, but was postponed after attorneys said they needed another day to review exhibits that will be presented during the trial-like proceeding.

Since the accident, questions have been raised about DRD’s safety record.

According to the Coast Guard, the pilot operating the Mel Oliver at the time of the collision was not properly licensed to operate a tugboat. The pilot had only an apprentice mates licence. The captain was not aboard the tugboat at the time of the collision.

American Commercial Lines, the owner of the barge, has taken responsibility for the clean-up of the oil spill, but not the collision that caused it.