The Capt. Rodney School
of Navigation has graduated two more skippers Magna Cum Lapsus. On July 2, just
after noon, in dense fog the 175' Block Island ferry hit the starboard stern quarter
of the the 140' USCG buoy tender Morro Bay while horns on both vessels blasted away.
The vessels were reportedly about 3 miles north of Block Island where Block Island
was bound. Yes, both vessels had powerful radars and, yes, it is quite often foggy
in those waters this time of year. And, yes, collisions occur there with some regularity
as both the USCG and ferry captains undoubtedly knew.
Coast Guard buoy tender and a Block Island ferry collided in thick fog about three
miles north of Block Island yesterday afternoon, leaving a slight dent on the ferry’s
bow and stories for its passengers to tell. No injuries were reported, and neither
vessel took on any water, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Amy Thomas, a spokeswoman
out of Boston, said. The multilevel ferry, named Block Island, was held up for a
short time on the water until it could be checked out. Escorted by two other Coast
Guard boats, it then continued under its own power to its Old Harbor port on the
island, arriving at about 2:25 p.m. The Coast Guard vessel — Morro Bay, a 140-foot
buoy tender that had once served as an icebreaker — had been on its way back to
its home port, in New London, Conn., from Newport. The ferry had left Point Judith
in Narragansett at 11:45 a.m. It was carrying 257 people plus its crew, the Coast
Guard said, to the popular summer tourism location.
USCG buoy tender Morro Bay
after collision.
Two Captains in a Fog
Visibility was about 200 yards at the time of the 12:15 p.m. collision, according
the Coast Guard, but passengers described conditions as foggy. At an evening news
conference at the cutter’s home port of New London, Conn., the Coast Guard said
it was not certain of the cause. “At this point the circumstance as to how the crash
occurred is part of the investigation. It is not available this early,” Thomas said.
“We regret any inconvenience or distress this might have caused anybody on the ferry.”
Although no one was seriously injured, three people were taken to the medical center
on Block Island, where they were treated and released, according to a ferry company
spokesman.
The ferry was left with a 44-inch-long dent about 5 feet above the water line, Petty
Officer Etta Smith said.
The incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard. William A. McCombe, the
security officer for the ferry operators, Interstate Navigation, issued a statement
about the incident, which he confirmed happened in thick fog. Coast Guard investigators
from Boston are interviewing the crews of both vessels and ferry passengers who
can be identified, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Amy Thomas.
"We're very relieved that there were no serious injuries," she said. "We're committed
to being as transparent as possible in our investigation and throughout the process."
Life jackets issued as passengers prepare for Coast Guard rescue.
Ferry Goes Full
Astern
When the ferry captain saw the Coast Guard vessel, McCombe said, he put the boat
in neutral, then reversed and tried to back down. There was a “minor hit,” he said.
“The captain took evasive action to minimize a minor collision,” he said.
McCombe would not comment on who might have had the right of way, saying he didn’t
want to interfere with an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
However, he did say he thought it was “not so much a speed as a visibility issue.”
[It's going to end up being a right-of-way issue.--Ed.]
The 1,000-passenger capacity ferry was using radar at the time of the collision,
McCombe said.
“That boat has made thousands of trips. This is the first incident that I know of
like that involving that vessel,” he said.
Yup, that's the starboard side of the cutter.
Cutter to Port
Shortly before the collision, John Daveau said he heard the ferry sounding its horn
and felt the ferry trying to slow. Then he saw the Coast Guard vessel cutting across
the bow of the ferry. He said the ferry hit the cutter in the stern.
It was a bump “like hitting a dock,” said Daveau, who was sitting near the bow.
“People started running for lifejackets. All the kids put on lifejackets.”
His wife, Michelle, said, “It took 20 years off my life.”
Brad Barco, 28, of West Greenwich, said he was riding on the top, outside level
of the ferry close to the front with his girlfriend. He said the fog was thick and
the ferry captain was blowing his horn every five minutes when they saw the Coast
Guard cutter appear about 100 feet off the left of the ferry.
Barco said both ships tried to avoid an impact and were able to slow down quite
a bit before they collided.
“I knew we weren’t going to be able to stop. I was like, ‘We’re going to hit this
thing.’ And then it got closer, closer, closer. They started honking their horns
back and forth. And before we knew it, we made impact,” he said.
John Austin, of Greenfield, Mass., was also aboard the ferry when it was hit, on
the upper deck on the starboard side.
In a phone conversation with projo.com as he returned home on another ferry later
yesterday, he said that the Coast Guard vessel “just appeared right out of the mist
in front of us.”
“It took a few seconds for contact –– it was like everything was in slow motion,”
he said, before the collision, which he described as “one glancing blow.” The ferry
then glided to a stop.
The trip between Point Judith and Old Harbor is about 13 miles long, and usually
takes about 55 minutes by ferry.
Bow of Block Island ferry.
Steamers Go Bad; Chowder in Doubt
While there were only minor injuries, there were a few cargo casualties. The ferry
was carrying 55 cases of clam chowder, 1,000 pounds of shellfish and 2,000 pounds
of produce including corn, lettuce and tomatoes that was destined for the plates
of holiday visitors, said Steven Filippi, owner of Ballard’s Inn, a well-known restaurant
and hotel complex at the ferry port.
He said he wasn’t allowed to get the food off the ferry until shortly before 5 p.m.
Wednesday. By then, the mussels and steamers were bad, and he wasn’t sure whether
the clam chowder had held up. Filippi said he was able to order replacement supplies
to be delivered Thursday morning.
—With reports from projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, Journal city editor
Tim Murphy, staff writers Paul Davis and Donita Naylor and the Associated Press.
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