A judge has suspended the credential of the Portland Spirit captain who forced rowers to evade the vessel’s path during a Willamette River race this fall, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday.
Capt. Lowell Gillespie Jr. had already been suspended by his employer for the incident. He was previously disciplined for running into other boats during a huge traffic jam on the Willamette that forced the shutdown of the Red Bull Flugtag competition in 2015, as well.
In the recent case, a Coast Guard administrative law judge ordered Gillespie’s merchant mariner credential be suspended for three months, according to the Coast Guard. Gillespie admitted his negligence, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
Even before the judge’s decision, the company suspended Gillespie for 90 days.
Gillespie maintained the vessel’s course and speed during the encounter, Coast Guard marine investigator Travis Nolen previously told The Oregonian/OregonLive, and the rowers changed their course to avoid a collision.