Tugboat captain sentenced in tragedy

A Miami tugboat captain who pleaded guilty in last year’s crash in Biscayne Bay involving a barge and a sailboat carrying campers that killed three young girls was sentenced to prison on October 13, 2026..

Yusiel Lopez Insua, 46, pleaded guilty in July to seaman’s manslaughter for operating a barge with obstructed visibility and without a proper lookout in the July 28, 2025 incident. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He’ll turn himself in in December to begin serving the sentence.

Insua had been facing a maximum of 10 years in prison but he had admitted guilt to spare the victims’ families from going through a trial, and the prosecutor, defense and families had agreed to less time in prison. – Full report