A tugboat captain has pleaded guilty to seaman’s manslaughter in connection with a collision that killed three girls from a Miami sailing camp last summer. Yusiel Lopez Insua, 47, entered his plea on Tuesday, according to court records.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of one year in prison followed by six months of home detention as part of a plea agreement, though a judge will make the final sentencing decision.
"Three children lost their lives in a tragedy that never should have happened," said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones. "Yusiel Lopez Insua ... 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."
The incident occurred on July 28, 2025, when Lopez Insua was piloting a 25-foot tugboat pushing a construction barge across Biscayne Bay. The barge, measuring 108 feet long and loaded with construction debris, weighed approximately 149 gross tons. Investigators stated that the vessel's forward view was obstructed by a deckhouse and crane, and no crewmember had been assigned to serve as a lookout.
This lack of a lookout prevented Lopez Insua from seeing a sailboat carrying a 19-year-old counselor and five girls, aged 7 to 13, from a nearby sailing camp. The sailboat had lost wind and stalled directly in the tugboat's path. The barge subsequently ran over the sailboat, submerging it beneath its hull.
While the counselor and two girls managed to escape, three girls became trapped and drowned beneath the wreckage. A forensic review of Lopez Insua’s cellphone indicated internet activity during the voyage, including around the time of the collision.
The children were in the final week of their sailing camp, according to the Miami Yacht Club.Nationwide, over 550 deaths occurred in recreational boating incidents in 2024, with 43 attributed to collisions between vessels, according to Coast Guard statistics.