Juneau artist R.D. Robinson is the subject of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by the federal government. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Juneau artist R.D. Robinson is the subject of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by the federal government. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Federal government sues Juneau artist over sunken tugboat

Admiralty court seeks millions to pay for removal of Challenger

The federal government is suing a Juneau artist for millions of dollars spent to raise a sunken tugboat from Gastineau Channel in 2016.

On Thursday, the Aviation, Space and Admiralty Litigation section of the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in Alaska’s U.S. District Court seeking $2.5 million from Robert Robinson, better known as R.D. Robinson.

Robinson is the last owner of the 96-foot WWII tugboat Challenger, which sank in the channel on Sept. 12, 2015. At the time, the complaint states, Robinson was the owner of the boat, making him responsible for its removal from the channel.

In an interview with the Empire, Robinson denied that claim, saying he had never completed a purchase from its previous owner, Tim Miles.

In Thursday’s complaint, federal attorneys declare, “At all times material herein, defendant Robert D. Robinson owned the Challenger.”

After the Challenger sank, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to contain lube oil and other materials leaking from the Challenger. With Robinson denying ownership, the national Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund agreed to pay for the raising and destruction of the Challenger in order to protect the Mendenhall Wetlands and an impending release of salmon fry from the Douglas Island Pink and Chum (DIPAC) salmon hatchery.

The Commandant of the Coast Guard approved the effort in January 2016, and a mammoth effort resulted as work crews used a crane barge, an 18-ton crane, two landing craft, a skiff, divers, generators and other equipment to lift the Challenger and tow it to the AJ Mine Dock for dismantling.

“On Sept. 11, 2017,” the complaint states, “the (National Pollution Fund Center) sent a bill to defendant Robinson for $2,541,197.98. To date, no payments have been made by defendant Robinson and all such amounts are due and owing.”

The complaint also states that the federal government could request additional damages for any harm to the natural environment.

Robinson is a sculptor and mosaic artist who designed the artwork in front of the Island Pub in Douglas, among other projects across town.

The case has been assigned to judge Hezekiah Russel Holland in Anchorage.

The tugboat Lumberman remains derelict and moored in the middle of Gastineau Channel on state tidelands.


• Contact reporter James Brooks at jbrooks@juneauempire.com or 523-2258.


Crew aboard the barge-crane Brightwater lifts the sunken 96-foot tugboat Challenger in Gastineau Channel in February 2016. The federal government has filed a civil lawsuit against Juneau artist R.D. Robinson, alleging he is responsible for the cost of removing the ship from Gastineau Channel. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Crew aboard the barge-crane Brightwater lifts the sunken 96-foot tugboat Challenger in Gastineau Channel in February 2016. The federal government has filed a civil lawsuit against Juneau artist R.D. Robinson, alleging he is responsible for the cost of removing the ship from Gastineau Channel. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Crew aboard the barge-crane Brightwater lifts the sunken 96-foot tugboat Challenger in Gastineau Channel in February 2016. The federal government has filed a civil lawsuit against Juneau artist R.D. Robinson, alleging he is responsible for the cost of removing the ship from Gastineau Channel. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

Crew aboard the barge-crane Brightwater lifts the sunken 96-foot tugboat Challenger in Gastineau Channel in February 2016. The federal government has filed a civil lawsuit against Juneau artist R.D. Robinson, alleging he is responsible for the cost of removing the ship from Gastineau Channel. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire file)

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast for the week of March 25

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

The aging Tustumena ferry, long designated for replacement, arrives in Homer after spending the day in Seldovia in this 2010 photo. (Homer News file photo)
Feds OK most of state’s revised transportation plan, but ferry and other projects again rejected

Governor’s use of ferry revenue instead of state funds to match federal grants a sticking point.

The Shopper’s Lot is among two of downtown Juneau’s three per-hour parking lots where the cash payments boxes are missing due to vandalism this winter. But as of Wednesday people can use the free ParkSmarter app to make payments by phone. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Pay-by-phone parking for downtown Juneau debuts with few reported complaints

App for hourly lots part of series of technology upgrades coming to city’s parking facilities.

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

Annauk Olin, holding her daugher Tulġuna T’aas Olin, and Rochelle Adams pose on March 20, 2024, after giving a presentation on language at the Alaska Just Transition Summit in Juneau. The two, who work together at the Alaska Public Interest Research Group’s Language Access program, hope to compile an Indigenous environmental glossary. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Project seeks to gather Alaska environmental knowledge embedded in Indigenous languages

In the language of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska, the word… Continue reading

The room where the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee holds its meeting sits empty on Tuesday. A presentation about an increase in the number of inmate deaths in state custody was abruptly canceled here. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Republican lawmakers shut down legislative hearing about deaths in Alaska prisons

Former commissioner: “All this will do, is it will continue to inflame passions of advocacy groups.”

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, March 25, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Employees at the Kensington Mine removing tailings from Johnson Creek on Feb. 17 following a Jan. 31 spill of about 105,000 gallons of slurry from the mine, although a report by the mine’s owners states about half slurry reached the creek 430 meters away. (Photo from report by Coeur Alaska)
Emergency fisheries assessments sought after 105,000-gallon tailings spill at Kensington Mine

Company says Jan. 31 spill poses no risk to Berners Bay habitat, but NOAA seeks federal evaluation.

Dozens of people throw colors in the air and at each other during a Holi festival gathering Monday night outside Spice Juneau Indian Cuisine. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Holi festival in Juneau revives colorful childhood memories for some, creates them for others

Dozens toss caution and colored cornstarch to the wind in traditional Hindu celebration of spring

Most Read