A Miami tugboat captain is now facing a federal seaman’s manslaughter charge in connection with a construction barge crash that killed three girls and injured others during a Miami Yacht Club summer sailing camp in July 2025. Prosecutors say this is the first criminal case to come out of the Biscayne Bay tragedy that rocked the local sailing community.
According to NBC 6 South Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has charged 46-year-old Yusiel Lopez Insua of Miami with seaman’s manslaughter. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones called the deaths "a preventable loss of life" in a news release and said prosecutors will present the evidence in court, the outlet reported. If convicted, Insua faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Collision And Victims
The deadly crash happened on July 28, 2025, near Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay. A barge being pushed by a tug struck and then dragged a 17-foot sailboat that was carrying five girls and a 19-year-old camp counselor, as detailed in earlier reporting on how a boat capsizes in Biscayne Bay.
Three girls, 7-year-old Mila Yankelevich, 10-year-old Arielle Buchman and 13-year-old Erin Ko, were killed in the collision, and two others were injured, according to that reporting.
What Prosecutors Allege
Prosecutors say the barge was loaded with construction debris and that its forward view was blocked by a deckhouse and crane. No one aboard the barge was assigned as a lookout, they allege, and Insua was operating with obstructed visibility without maintaining a proper lookout.
"Due to the obstructed visibility, and lack of a lookout, Insua did not see the stalled sailboat before the barge struck it," the federal news release states. A forensic review also reportedly found internet activity on Insua’s cellphone at or near the time of the collision, according to NBC 6 South Florida.
Civil Suits And Coast Guard Referral
Separate from the criminal case, a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in August accused Waterfront Construction Inc., the Miami Yacht Club and the Youth Sailing Foundation of negligence in the lead-up to the collision, according to Local 10.
The U.S. Coast Guard later referred its marine casualty investigation to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution in October, the Coast Guard said, as reported by WLRN.
Legal Context
Seaman’s manslaughter is a federal charge that prosecutors use in fatal maritime cases. Past press releases from the Southern District of Florida show the office seeking multi-year prison terms when conduct is found to be reckless. In one example from 2025, a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release described a sentence of more than eight years in a prior seaman’s manslaughter prosecution, underscoring how seriously federal authorities treat deadly negligence on the water.
What Comes Next
Officials have not yet released a court date in the Insua case, and the investigation remains active. Families and sailing organizations have been pressing for answers since last summer, and the new indictment is expected to draw close attention as it moves through federal court.
